


1795-1895. 



OFFICIAL REPORT 



OF THE 



PROCEEDINGS 

OF THE 

CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY 

OF 

LYCOMING COUNTY, PA., 

HELD AT THE 

CITY OK WILLIAMSPORT, 

July 2d, 3d and 4th, 1895, 

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF 

ANTIQUARIAN HALL 

A.ND ITS WONDERS. 



They who care not to know their ancestors are wanting in 
natural affection and regardless of filial duty. 

—A. H. Ward. 



John F. Meginness, Editor. 



WILLIAMSPORT, PA.: 

GAZETTE AND BULLETIN PRINTING HOUSE. 

1896. 




F 



15 






■ L 






"> I /' / <^7 



PREFACE. 

It is with a feeling of satisfaction of a duty well, if tardily, performed 
that the Committee presents the completed volume relating to the pro- 
ceedings of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the erection 
of the county of Lycoming. 

Its publication has been untimely delayed by circumstances over which 
the Committee had no control; first, by the serious illness of W. W. Cham- 
pion, Esq., chairman of the Antiquarian Committee (and a member of this 
Committee), which prevented the calling of the Committee together for 
several months; and further, by a stress of important and immediate work 
on the part of the publisher, after the copy was placed in his hands. 

The Committee was fortunate in securing the services of the veteran 
local historian, editor and publisher, Mr. John F. Meginness (John of 
Lancaster), to take charge of the compilation of the work, under whose 
skillful editorship it has reached the proportions and dignity of this large 
and interesting volume — a lasting monument to the magnificent celebration 
of the centennial anniversary of our existence as a county. 

Of the success of the exercises, beginning with the school celebration 
on March 13, 1895, the civic and historical demonstrations of July 2d, 3d 
and 4th, to the closing of the antiquarian exposition, with its great wealth 
of the rare, the unique and the antique, this handsome volume attests. Its 
pages are replete with the odor and the ardor of those festive days; and may 
we not well feel that we have set the pace for our posterity of 1995? It 
has been the aim of the Committee to represent every feature of that 
delightful celebration, so that coming generations may see and know what 
was done by the sons and daughters of 1895 in honor of the pioneer 
ancestry of 1795. 

The scope of the work makes it a full and complete compendium of 
the events leading up to, and the proper observance of, our centennial 
anniversary. A review of the orderly arrangement of the volume, and a 
careful perusal of its contents, it is believed will bear the Committee out, 
that the work has been carefully and thoroughly done, and that there are 
few, if any, centennial publications of greater scope, merit and excellence 
in our state. 

A brief but comprehensive sketch of the settlement of the West Branch 
Valley, a graphic account of the long and bitter fight for the erection of 
Lycoming County, led by the redoubtable Senator Hepburn; the organization 
of the new county; the bitter war for the county seat, and the founding of 
our beautiful city, are followed by a complete roster of the city and county 
officers for the centennial year. The Director General, Maj. H. S. Lucas, 



PREFACE. 

furnishes a short sketch of the territorial extent and subdivision of the 
original county, together with an exhaustive statement of the receipts and 
expenditures. The name of every contributor is given, and an analysis 
shows from what districts of the county the money was obtained. A 
chapter is very properly devoted to the observance of the event by the public 
schools of the county and city, under the direction of Superintendent 
J. George Becht and a committee of leading citizens, teachers and directors, 
as this was the first organized effort looking to the proper observance of this 
auspicious occasion. This is followed by full minutes of the meetings of 
the Centennial Association, with the names of committees, the programs for 
parades, and the orations on each day of the celebration. 

A feature of much interest will be found in that part of the work re- 
lating to the antiquarian display, which, while not so full or complete as it 
was the desire of the editor and the chairman of that committee to have had 
it, yet it is the best that possibly could be made under the circumstances. 
The work of collecting and receipting for exhibits had necessarily been 
deputed to others, and upon examination of the stubs of the record books 
but meagre information regarding the various exhibits could be obtained. 
From these imperfect records, personal knowledge and such further informa- 
tion as the limited time offered for gathering facts, were the long lists 
collected. The labor involved was very great. It was deemed fitting to in- 
clude in the antiquarian department the daily programs as carried out in 
the exposition building, together with the closing addresses as far as they 
could be obtained. 

Several important reports of committees appointed by the association 
are given in their proper place. They comprise a report on the Bench and 
Bar, by C. LaRue Munson, Esq. ; the Early Physicians, by Louis Schneider, 
M. D., and Agriculture, by Mr. Abner Fague. Two centennial sermons — all 
that were forwarded to the Committee — are given. The maps and illustra- 
tions also form a valuable and instructive feature, while the poems round off 
the whole. 

The entire work comprises 111,825 words, all of which goes to make a 
volume which the Committee feel will be accepted as a fitting memorial of 
the centennial observance of the founding of the county of Lycoming. The 
Committee desire to extend their hearty thanks to all who contributed of 
their time, labor and money towards making the celebration such a 
magnificent success; and especially to the ladies of the Auxiliary Com- 
mittee, for they removed all doubts of success when they perfected an 
organization and enthusiastically entered the field. 

H. C. PARSONS, 
H. S. LUCAS, 
W. W. CHAMPION, 
A. J. QUIGLEY, 
Williamsport, July 4, 1896. Committee. 



LYCOMING COUNTY. 



When it was Organized, Its Original Extent, First 
Officers and Population. 



Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, was organized by 
act of the Legislature approved by Gov. Thomas Mif- 
flin, April 13, 1795, out of territory taken from the 
county of Northumberland.* As early as 1786 a move- 
ment for the formation of the new county was started 
by the settlers along the river north of the Muncy Hills, 
and the agitation was kept up with little interruption 
for nine years before the object of the petitioners was 
accomplished. 

One of the principal reasons for asking for the divi- 
sion of Northumberland County was the long distance 
the petitioners were compelled to travel in order to 
reach the county seat at Sunbury, and the danger of 
crossing several large streams* when they were swol- 
len by freshets. In the beginning of the movement 
for division a diversity of opinion existed among the 
petitioners as to where the eastern line of the proposed 
new county should be fixed. Some favored Muncy 
Hills, while others wanted Loyalsock Creek made the 
boundary line between the two counties; but all agreed 
that the necessity for a new county was imperative, 

♦Northumberland was formed from territory taken from Berks, 
Bedford, Cumberland, Northampton and Lancaster counties. March 
21, 1772, and was the largest county in the State. The first courts were 
held at Fort Augusta. 

tNeither the river, nor any of these streams, were bridged at that 
time, nor for twenty-five years afterwards. 



6 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

no matter where the line of division should be estab- 
lished. 

One of the original petitions sent to the Legislature 
has been preserved, and is in the possession of the Edi- 
tor; and as it never has been printed, it is given here- 
with in full for the purpose of showing who the signers 
were one hundred and ten years ago. It is as follows : 

To the Honorable the Representatives of the Freemen of the Common- 
wealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met: The Humble 
Petition of the subscribers (taxable) inhabitants residing from 
•Muncy Gap in the county of Northumberland upwards, humbly 
sheweth: 

That your petitioners have been informed that a petition has been 
signed by some of the inhabitants of Muncy Township in the county 
aforesaid, praying that a law may be enacted for the dividing of said 
county, and to 'form the boundary at or near the top of Muncy Hills, 
which line your petitioners conceive would be highly injurious to them, 
as it would subject them to an immensity of difficulties; particularly the 
crossing of Loyalsock and Lycoming creeks, the former of which is the 
western boundary of Muncy Township, and its waters [are] often times 
so high and rapid that it is many times difficult to pass, and at other 
times totally impassable. 

Therefore your petitioners pray that it may seem meet to the wisdom 
of your honorable house to cause a division of the county of Northum- 
berland, that you will be pleased to enact that the eastern extremity of 
tihe new county may be confined by the waters of Loyalsock, and your 
petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. 

Philip Francis, Daniel White, 

John Robb, Sr., Henry Shoemaker, Jr., 

Henry Shoemaker, Sr.,* Caleb Seely, 

Benedict Aubernt, John Herrington, 

Hugh Watson, Jacob Nunemacher, 

John Figgels, George Washington Hunter, \.\ 

Cornelius Waltron, Michael Gauer, 

Cornelius Burdln. Joseph Hill, 

Lefferd Waltron, Jacob Gardner, 

James Hampton, Peter Dunkelberger, 

John Whin, Peter McMahen, 

James McKelvy, Philip Renn, 

*Came from Berks County in 1783 and built a mill at an early date in 
Muncy Township. He died in 1799. Benjamin, one of his sons, mar- 
ried Mary Scudder, the first female child born west of Muncy Hills, 
May 21, 1771. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 7 

Philip Obb,* John Smith, 

Heinrich Bock.t William Dornbach, 

Benjamin Shoemaker, ' Hannis Gordner, 

George Smith, Peter Carson,** 

Johannes Bieber.J Lize Hunt, 

Joseph Segert, Samuel Knapp, 

Heinrich Hill, Jesse Craft, 

Joseph Gortner, Abraham Wardman, 
Joseph Kraft, ' George Faust, 

Thomas Hunt, John Low, 

William Hunt, Jacob Larrison, 

Thomas Hamilton, Thomas Labton, 

John Colborn, Robert Grey, 

Heinrich Bittig, George Dockter, 

Christopher Fink, Heinrich Dockter, 

Sylvester Colborn, Dehnhardt Dockter, 

William Hambleton, Moses Rush, 

Heinrich Annener, Daniel Cruger, 

Arthur More, Samuel Iddings. 

The petition is endorsed on the back: "Read in 
House March 13, 1787," which shows that the signa- 
tures were obtained in the early part of that year. 
The penmanship is plain and clear and the autographs 
are, with few exceptions, very distinct. It will be 
noticed that there were a goodly number of German 
settlers here at that early date; and the descendants 
of some of them are living in the county to-day. The 
absence of the names of several prominent settlers 
will be observed, notably those of William Hepburn, 

*SLnce changed into Opp. Philip, the ancestor of the family, came here 
•early and settled in what is now Moreland Township. They were 
driven away by the Indians, but returned. He died in 1837 at an ad- 
vanced age. 

tNow known as Buck. He was born in 1749 and died 1791, leaving 
descendants. 

JGreat grandfather of J. Artley Beeber, Elsq., president of the First 
National Bank, Williamsport. He was a native of Germany; served 
through the Revolutionary war and settled on Muncy Creek in 1783. He 
•died in 1845. 

**Came from New Jersey and settled near where Hughesville stands. 
Jacob, one of his sons, married Elizabeth Fiester and they had fifteen 
children. 



8 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Samuel Wallis, the Covenhovens and others. Doubt- 
less their names were appended to the other petition 
and they favored the Muncy Hills dividing line. 

Notwithstanding the unanimity of the settlers above 
Muncy Hills for a new county, fierce opposition to the 
movement was developed in the lower and more popu- 
lous part of the county. This opposition came prin- 
cipally from residents of Sunbury,* backed by influen- 
tial land owners living in Philadelphia. They feared 
that the dismemberment of Northumberland County 
would operate against the town of Sunbury, as well 
as the interests of the owners of land in the northern 
and western parts of the old county. They seemed 
to have no conception of the laws of migration, but 
regarded the settlements up the river as finished, and 
that there would be no further movement westward. 

Petition after petition praying for a new county was 
sent to the Legislature from year to year, but the op- 
position was so great that scarcely any attention was 
paid to these appeals. The petitioners, however, did 
not despair, but kept up their appeals with increasing- 
force from year to year. In the meantime the tide of 
emigration was steadily rolling westward in obedi- 
ence to that law which has existed from time imme- 
morial, and settlers had advanced as far as the Bald 
Eagle Valley and the region of the Sinnemahoning. 
The cause of the up-river inhabitants was therefore 
strengthened by the arrival of each new emigrant. 
Finally a petition containing 996 signatures, praying 
for the erection of a new county, was received and read 
November 20, 1789. This large document — for that 



♦This opposition caused petitions to be laid before the Legislature 
praying for the county seat to be removed across the river to Northum- 
berland. This so incensed the Sunburyites that they did not get over 
it for fifty years. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 9 

time — must have contained the name of every set- 
tler from Muncy to the Bald Eagle Valley. It would 
be curious to look over the names at this day, but the 
petition is not now known to be in existence, the only 
record of its presentation being the meagre proceed- 
ings of the Legislature at that time. It was read 
the second time and referred to a committee. This 
committee reported in a short time against division, 
claiming, among other reasons for their action, that 
the number of inhabitants would not justify a divi- 
sion — that the people were too few in number "to sup- 
port double county charges." 

After this rebuff we hear nothing more of the new 
county movement for two or three years. In the mean- 
time William Hepburn and his brother James had 
become the owners of six hundred acres* of land sit- 
uated on the flats north of the present borough of Mon- 
toursville. Soon afterwards they agreed to exchange 
this land for an equal quantity lying in what is now 
the central part of Williamsport, and owned by John 
Hollingsworth. James Hepburn lived at Northum- 
berland and was a merchant of some prominence. His 
brother William had settled at what is now the foot 
of Park Street, Williamsport, erected two log buildings 
and started a store and distillery. During the In- 
dian troubles in the valley William had taken an ac- 
tive part in repelling the savages, and rapidly came 
to the front as an active and representative man. 

In 1788* Williani Hepburn was chosen one of the 
commissioners of Northumberland County and served 
until 1791. W T hile serving as commissioner the con- 

*For a full account of this purchase, and exchange with Hollings- 
worth, see History of the Hepburn Family, pp. 39-42-50. 
fVide Hist. Northumberland County, p. 184. 



10 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

test for the new county was resumed and petitions 
were showered upon the Assembly. Slowly and stead- 
ily a favorable impression was made on the opponents 
of the measure. It was like the continued dropping 
of water which wears away the stone. 

In the midst of the contention for the formation of 
a new county, a vacancy in the State Senate occurred 
by the resignation of William Montgomery from 
Northumberland. A special election was ordered to 
be held January 8, 1794, and William Hepburn was 
chosen. This was a great victory for the people liv- 
ing west of the Muncy Hills. He favored division 
both for personal and pecuniary reasons. On taking 
his seat he was treated with marked respect by the 
Senators and at once assumed a leading position. He 
knew the wishes of his friends and neighbors in the 
upper part of the valley, and he at once espoused their 
cause with vigor and enthusiasm. With such an ag- 
gressive champion it was not long until there was 
a radical change in public sentiment, and a bill erect- 
ing a new county was introduced, considered and 
agreed upon finally in a conference committee be- 
tween the two houses, wlien it was quickly signed by 
the Governor. The prompt action of the executive 
and the subsequent appointments made by him, lead 
to the conclusion that he was favorably disposed 
towards the people of the West Branch Valley, either 
through relationship with some of the petitioners or 
business interests. That there was a warm feeling 
between him and many of the leading advocates for 
division was shown very conclusively in 1803, when 
a great township was set oil from Lycoming and named 
for him. This township of Mifflin still exists, but it 
has been greatly reduced in size — yet it perpetuates 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 11 

the name of the governor who signed the bill creating 
the county of Lycoming. 

It should be mentioned, however, that before final 
action was taken on the bill, there was some discus- 
sion as to the name which should be given the new 
county. Among the names considered were "Jeffer- 
son," "Susquehanna," "Lycoming" and "Muncy." 
After considerable debate, and when all the names 
proposed had been rejected, a. reconsideration was 
moved and it was agreed to call it Lycoming, after the 
great stream which had for so many years formed 
the boundary line between Northumberland County 
and the Indian land lying west of the creek and north 
of the river. For this reason the county was so named, 
and it must be admitted that the title is more expres- 
sive, appropriate and beautiful than if it had been 
called after a tribe of Indians. The Monseys were not 
what might be called "good Indians," and have long 
since fulfilled their destiny and faded away, while the 
"Lacomic" still flows as majestically from the northern 
hills as it did when forming a boundary line between 
the red and the white men. 

After signing the bill Governor Mifflin lost no time 
in making appointments to organize the new county 
and set the judicial machinery in motion. The next 
day (April 14, 1795,) he conferred upon Samuel Wallis 
and John Kidd authority to administer oaths, and on 
the following day (the 15th) he commissioned Samuel 
Wallis, William Hepburn, John Adlum and Dr. James 
Davidson, first, second, third and fourth associate 
judges, respectively, to organize a court for the new 
county. 

Hepburn immediately resigned as State Senator 
and repaired to his home in the new county, and about 



12 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

the 20th of April, seven days after the Governor had 
signed the bill, a meeting of the associates was called. 
They met at Jaysburg, were sworn in by Kidd, and or- 
ganized by electing Hepburn president. He served 
in this capacity for ten years and presided at quarter 
sessions courts with singular success and ability. 
Hon. Jacob Rush was president judge of the Hid Ju- 
dicial District, to which Lycoming County was at- 
tached. 

John Kidd,* who was empowered to swear in the 
first officer of the count} 7 , was also commissioned pro- 
thonotary, recorder of deeds, clerk of orphans' court, 
clerk of oyer and terminer, quarter sessions and reg- 
ister of wills. 

In obedience to a clause in the act creating the 
county, Governor Mifflin appointed five commissioners 
to select a site for the public buildings. They were 
as follows: John Hall, Philadelphia; Francis Nichols, 
Montgomery; Alexander Scott, Lancaster; John Edic, 
York; William Elliott, Franklin. The act required them 
to meet at Northumberland on the first Monday in Sep- 
tember, and proceed to perform the work assigned 
them and report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth 
not later than October 1, 1895. And from their decis- 
ion there was to be no appeal. 

When they came to make the selection they found 
that a bitter spirit of rivalry had sprung up between 
the inhabitants of Jaysburg, a village situated on the 

♦This remarkable young man is supposed to have been a native of 
Drumore Township, Lancaster County. He was living- at Northumber- 
land when Governor Mifflin appointed him prothonotary, &c, having 
been admitted to the bar at Sunbury In August, 1791. Kidd wrote a 
beautiful hand and was well qualified for the different offices he held, 
but becoming dissipated Governor Snyder refused to re-appoint him. 
He held office about fourteen years. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 13 

river west of the mouth of Lycoming Creek — where 
the first court was held and the first offices of record 
of the county were opened — and Michael Ross and 
William Hepburn, owners of land lying east of Lycom- 
ing Creek. Ross proposed to lay out a town,* and as 
Hepburn expected it would appreciate the value of 
his land, he championed the project of Ross and the 
two joined issue with the Jaysbursrers. In the mean- 
time John Sutton, who had laid out Newberry on the 
north of Jaysburg, and William Dunn, proprietor of 
Dunnstown, entered the contest for county seat honors. 
Dunn tendered a lot for the court house, but there is 
nothing on record to show if Sutton made any proposal. 
The contest grew more bitter from day to day and at 
one time a riot between the Hepburn-Ross party and 
the Jaysburgers was imminent. Jacob Latcha, prin- 
cipal owner of Jaysburg, tendered an eligible lot on 
which to erect the court house. These bids stirred 
up the Hepburn-Ross party and convinced them that 
they must make a more liberal offer or the coveted 
prize would slip away from them. A tender of four 
lots was then made by Ross, and as the competing 
parties did not offer a better inducement, the commis- 
sioners accepted Ross' offer and closed the contest. 
An appeal being barred by the provisions of the act 
creating the county, the Jaysburg party accepted the 
decision in bitterness and wrath and never forgave 
the winners, but charged them with using corrupt 
means to defeat them. 

*The original plot of Williamsport, as laid out for Ross by William 
Ellis and Joseph Williams in 1795-96, was a rectangular figure containing 
111 acres, divided into '302 lots, with streets and alleys crossing each 
other at right angles, and a public square in the centre. It was bounded 
on the east by Academy Street, south by the river, west by West and 
Hepburn Streets and north by Hartman Alley or North Street. The 
city now covers about six and a half square miles, or 4,160 acres. 
2 



14 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

When Michael Boss' town — then called "William's 
Port" — was selected it only contained the skeleton of 
a log building standing on the corner of what is now 
East Third and Mulberry streets. Jaysburg, how- 
ever, which was also laid out with streets and alleys, 
contained a number of houses, a. hotel, several shops 
and stores, and a school house. 

When the contest was closed the commissioners hur- 
ried away to make their report, no doubt glad to es- 
cape the maledictions of the defeated party which 
were heaped upon them. The Sunbury records show 
that Hall received as his compensation £25 17s 6d. The 
others were paid lesser amounts. 

Thus did Lycoming County and Williamsport come 
into existence. The latter, however, does not date 
its official beginning before the 4th of July, 1796, be- 
cause on that day a public auction for the sale of lots 
was held and the first deeds of transfer bear that 
date. The log house* shown on a crude map, drawn 
with pen and pencil when the fight for the county seat 
was being waged, was finished and occupied in the 
spring of 1796. It was known as the "Russell Inn," 
and remained as a historic landmark until it was con- 



*This amateur map was found among: the papers of Samuel Wallis, 
and in 1895 it was published for the first time by Joseph H. McMinn, of 
Williamsport. It represents the villages of Jaysburg and Newberry, 
while a single house appears on the ground now occupied by Williams- 
port. It evidently was the first attempt to map the valley of the river 
above Lewisburg. The river and tributary streams are shown as far up 
as "Cinnamahoning." The' object of the map was to show the commis- 
sioners on site that the county seat should be located further up the 
river than Williamsport — probably at Dunnstown — as the population 
was 905 above Lycoming Creek and only 479 below. It also showed that 
the river valley was settled thirty-six miles above Lycoming Creek, 
while it was only fourteen miles to the southern county line at Muncy 
Hills, therefore the county seat should be nearer the centre of popula- 
tion. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 15 

sumed in the great fire of 1871. James Russell, the 
proprietor, purchased the lot at the 4th of July sale, 
and paid £40, Pennsylvania currency. The building- 
is correctly shown in the illustration, and is well re- 
membered by many persons yet living. From that 
rough building the present magnificent city has grown 
until it now numbers more than thirty thousand in- 
habitants within its prescribed limits; and if the sub- 
urbs, which are practically a part thereof, could be 
counted the population would reach, if not exceed, 
thirty-five thousand. 

The first election for county officers was held October 
16, 1795. Samuel Stewart,* of Nippenose Township, 
was chosen sheriff, and John Hanna, James Craw- 
ford and Thomas Forster commissioners. Sheriff 
Stewart filed his bond October 28, 1795, and assumed 
the duties of his office at once. The commissioners, 
however, did not meet and organize until December 
1, 1795. At their second meeting, on the 15th, 
they appointed John Kidd treasurer, and at the third 
meeting, on the 21st, they issued their warrants for 
making an enumeration of the taxable inhabitants 
of the county, returnable on the first Tuesday in Jan- 
uary, 1796. According to the act a return to the Leg- 
islature had to be made not later than the 1st of Feb- 
ruary, 1796. 

The next meeting of the board was held January 5, 
1796, when the returns from the enumerators were 
received. This was the first enumeration of the taxa- 
ble inhabitants of Lycoming County, and the number 

*As Samuel Stewart was born December 4, 1770, lie was not quite 
twenty-five years old when he became sheriff. He died April 6, 1844, and 
his youngest son, James, born in 1831, is now living in Nippenose Town- 
ship. 



16 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

in the seven original townships* was returned as fol- 
lows: 

Muncy Township 378 

Loyalsock Township 100 

Lycoming Township 359 

Washington Township 106 

Pine Creek Township 189 

Nippenose Township 96 

Lower Bald Eagle Township 158 

Total Taxables, January, 1796 1,386 

Allowing three persons to each taxable would give 
a population of 4,158, which is believed to be about 
correct. The census of 1800 gave the county a popu- 
lation of 5,414. And from these small beginnings 
the county has increased in wealth and population 
until at the close of one hundred years it was found 
to have 70,579 souls within its borders. 

The original boundary line of Lycoming County may 
be briefly outlined as follows: 

Beginning near the mouth of White Deer Creek, it extended west- 
ward to a point near Kittanning, on the Allegheny River; thence up the 
stream to the mouth of Conewango Creek, at Warren ; thence up the 
creek to the New York line; thence eastward on the state line until it 
intersected the line of Luzerne County nea«r Tioga Point; thence south- 
ward on the line of Luzerne until it came within range of the Muncy 
Hills, when it bore westward over these hills, and crossing the river at 
what is now the Montgomery railroad bridge, descended the west side 
of the river to the place of beginning. 

The territory comprised within these lines is rough- 
ly estimated at nearly eleven thousand square miles, 
or about one- fourth of the state. It was larger than 
either of the states of Vermont, New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jer- 
sey or Delaware; or to make the comparison more 
striking, it was larger than Massachusetts, Khode 
Island and Delaware combined, and Connecticut and 

*A11 these townships were created by the court of Northumberland 
County before Lycoming was organized. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 17 

New Jersey were but one thousand square miles 
greater. 

At that time more than three- fourths of this vast 
domain was practically an unexplored region — in fact, 
"a howling wilderness" — and contained only a trifle 
over 4,000 inhabitants. But advancement, improve- 
ment and civilization have been so great that at the 
end of a century we find a population of about 600,000 
within this territory, three beautiful and thrifty cities, 
many boroughs and villages, and a country rich in 
agriculture, manufactures and all the essential ele- 
ments of prosperity and wealth. The great lumber 
district and a portion of the immense oil field lie with- 
in the original limits of Lycoming, while the bitumin- 
ous coal fields are almost inexhaustible. The value 
of the annual products of this district mouuts high 
up into the millions, and still the great work of devel- 
opment goes on. 

By consulting the accompanying map showing the 
original extent, and the counties that have been made 
in whole or in part from Lycoming, the reader will 
have a clearer conception of the magnitude of the 
county one hundred years ago. The work of dismem- 
berment commenced in 1800 and ended in 1861. As 
the county stands to-day it contains 1,213 square miles 
and is the second largest sub-division of the Common- 
wealth. 

When Lycoming County was organized there was 
only one election district" in the territory of which it 
was composed. This district consisted of Muncy and 
Bald Eagle townships — the balance of the territory 
was an unknown and indefinite quantity. This elec- 
tion district was created by au act of Assembly ap- 

*Vide Smith's Laws for this and other acts creating election districts. 



18 



LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



proved September 13, 1785, and the place of voting 
was fixed at the house of Amariah Sutton, which 
stood on the east side of Lycoming Creek, in what is 
now the Tenth Ward of Williamsport. Here the tax- 
ables of the two townships assembled to vote, many 
of them being compelled to travel long distances. 




An Old Map in Jesse Lukens 
O'cry*-* FieU Book of (773 

TtottJby At£.Coop tr 

Cm.ptrs Ph?»s, /v, y. 



[Jesse Lukens, who drew the above map, was a son of John Lukens, 
surveyor general of Pennsylvania from 1761 to 1789, and was born Au- 
gust 8, 1748. He early displayed a taste for surveying, and did much 
work here for Samuel Wallis. He took up land for himself in Buffalo 
Valley in 1769. He accompanied Colonel Plunkett's ill-advised ex- 
pedition from Sunbury against the Yankees at Wyoming as a specta- 
tor. In a volley fired by the Yankees near Nanticoke young Lukens 
was the only man hit, and he died from the wound December 25, 1775, in 
his 28th year. The object in giving the map here is to show that 
Amariah Sutton had his house built as early as 1773; and the location 
of the Indian village (Old Town), below Dougherty's Run. This map is 
the oldest known to be in existence showing the upper part of what is 
now Williamsport. — Ed.] 

It was not long after the erection of Ly coming- 
County until the increase of population demanded 
the formation of more election districts; consequent- 
ly an act approved March 21, 1797, divided the county 
into five districts and defined them as follows : 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 19 

1. Loyalsock Township, and that part of Lycoming Township east 
of Pine Run, and that part of Washington Township north of Bald 
Eagle Mountain, to be known as district number one, and elections to 
be held at the court house, Williamsport. 

2. Muncy Township, and part of Washington Township, lying south 
of Bald Eagle Mountain, to be district number two, and elections to be 
held at the house of Henry Shoemaker, Jr., in Muncy Township. 

3. That part of Lycoming Township west of Pine Run, and that 
part of Pine Creek east of Chatham's Run, and the township of Nippe- 
nose, to form the third district. Elections to be held at the house of 
Thomas Ramsey, Pine Creek. 

4. All that part of Pine Creek Township west of Chatham's Run to 
constitute the fourth district, and elections to be held at the house of 
Hugh Andrew, Dunnsburgh. 

5. Bald Eagle Township formed the fifth district, and elections were 
held at the house of Frederick Richards. 

At these places our great grandfathers and grand- 
fathers assembled to exercise the right of suffrage. 
It requires little figuring to show that many of them 
had to travel from twenty to seventy miles if they 
wished to vote for a favorite candidate. 

Emigrants came in so rapidly that in seven years 
the population had increased to such an extent that 
another election district was required. The act of 
April 3, 1804, made Tioga Township (erected in 1798, 
and now in Tioga County,) "a separate election dis- 
trict," and directed that elections be held at the house 
of Thomas Berry.* He had settled on the Tioga River 
at what is now the borough of Tioga. Before making 
Berry's house a polling place, settlers in that region 
desiring to vote were compelled to travel southward to 
Ramsey's, on Pine Creek, a distance of more than sixty 
miles ! 

By the act of April 4, 1805, it was enacted "that the 
following described part of Lycoming County [now in 
Bradford County] shall be a separate election district: 

*This new district embraced nearly all the territory of the present 
County of Tioga. 



20 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Beginning at the north-east corner of the township 
of Burlington; thence south on the east line of said 
township to the north line of the county of Luzerne; 
thence west on said line to the east line of the county of 
Tioga; thence northerly on said line to a point due west 
from the north-west corner of the township of Ulster; 
thence east seven miles; thence south to the north line 
of the toAvnship of Burlington; thence east on said 
line to the place of beginning, to be called Burling- 
ton district, and elections to be held at the house of 
Nathaniel Alter, in Burlington." 

By the act of April 11, 1807, it was enacted that 
"Delmar,* county of Lycoming," shall be a separate 
election district [now a township in Tioga County], and 
elections held at the house of Joshua Emlen, in Wells- 
boro. 

The act of March 28, 1808, created the following 
election district in Lycoming (now Bradford) County: 
"Beginning at the 66th milestone on the north line of 
the state [New York], thence south to the north line 
of Burlington Township; thence on said line westward- 
ly to the east line of Tioga County; thence northerly 
on said line to the 81st milestone; thence east on the 
state line to the place of beginning, to be called the 
Cleftsburg district, and elections to be held at the 
house of John Cummings." 

The same act constituted the whole of Elkland 
Township and as much of the township of Shrewsbury 
lying north of the summit of the Allegheny Mountain 
(now in Sullivan County) an election district, and 
ordered the elections to be held at the house of Wil- 
liam Molyneux, at the forks of the Loyalsock. 

*Delmar was set off from the township of Tioga in 1806 by the court 
of Lycoming- County. The county of Tioga was erected March 26, 1804, 
but it was not organized for judicial purposes until January, 1812. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 21 

More districts were created at a later date, but the 
foregoing must suffice to show the reader what a vast 
domain was once embraced within our original bound- 
aries. 

After all the territory Lycoming County has con- 
tributed for the formation, in whole or in part, of other 
counties, she now contains forty-two townships, nine 
boroughs and one city, and has seventy-two election 
districts, as against seven one hundred years ago. The 
census of 1890 gave her a population of 70,579; to-day 
it probably exceeds 75,000. At the date of organiza- 
tion there was not one post-office in the county; to-day 
there are eighty-eight. For nearly four years the peo- 
ple had to travel to Northumberland to receive their 
letters and papers, where a post-office was first estab- 
lished November 13, 1795, seven months after the or- 
ganization of Lycoming County. A post-office was 
established at Williamsport August 12, 1799; Milton 
January 1, 1800; Muncy April 1, 1800; Jersey Shore 
April 1, 1806. Sunbury, older than either of these 
places, did not have a post-office until January 1, 1797, 
nearly two years and two months after Northumber- 
land. 

The first mails were carried by a boy on horseback, 
in a pair of saddlebags, and only arrived about 
once a week. The contrast between the mail facilities 
of that day and the present is almost beyond belief. 
Then a light pair of saddlebags were scarcely half 
filled — now more than a car load of mail matter arrives 
at the Williamsport post-office every twenty-four hours. 
The rapidity of our advancement in every department 
of human endeavor during the cycle of a hundred years 
has been so great as to almost paralyze the senses and 
dumfound the imagination. 



22 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

When Williamsport was selected as the county seat 
for Lycoming there were no public buildings within 
the limits of the town, and the early courts were held 
first at Jaysburg, then at the house of Eleanor Win- 
ter, east of Lycoming Creek, near what is now the cor- 
ner of Fourth and Cemetery streets. A room was then 
fitted up in the Kussell Inn, where the court remained 
during 1797, or until new quarters were provided at 
the Rising Sun* tavern, further up Third Street. In 
the meantime a temporary log house was erected on 
the south-western corner of what is now the court, 
house square, where the court and the county officers 
found a temporary refuge. Until this building was 
ready the public offices were kept at Jaysburg, much 
to the liking of the officials, but much to the disgust 
of the Hepburn-Ross party. An official coloring was 
given to legal business, however, by the court moving 
about and holding its sessions within the limits of the 
place selected for the county seat. The county officers, 
however, had such commodious quarters (?) at 
Jaysburg that they were loth to leave them, and John 
Kidd, f prothonotary, etc., lingered there so long with 
the records that the Governor was requested to order 
him to remove them to the county seat. The jail and 
prisoners were also kept at Jaysburg until the tem- 
porary court bouse was ready for occupancy. In this 
building a room was set apart for prisoners, and the 
final departure from Jaysburg took place near the 
close of the eighteenth century. 

*This house, built and kept for several years by Thomas Huston. 
stood on the site of what is better known as the Heivly building. He 
was the father of Charles Huston, the eminent lawyer and member of 
the State Supreme Court. And it was here that John Kidd, the multipo- 
tent officeholder, died April 9, 1813. 

tFor Kidd's correspondence on this subject with the Secretary of the 
Commonwealth, and Chief Justice McKean's answer, see Hist. Lycom- 
ing County, pp. 237-238. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 23 

It may be stated in this connection that the first 
jailer was Samuel Jordan, father of the celebrated 
Judge Jordan, who, fifty years afterwards, presided 
over the courts of Lycoming County. The second 
jailer was Kobert McElrath, who appears to have 
taken charge of this institution after its removal to 
Williamsport. He was the father of Thomas McEl- 
rath, who assisted Horace Greeley to found the New 
York Tribune. 

No record of the cost of the first stone jail has been 
found. It probably did not exceed |8,000 or $9,000, 
and was ready for occupants in the fall of 1800, and 
was finished in 1801. With some improvements and 
an addition or two, it served the county until 1867, 
when, on account of damage by fire, it was torn down 
to make room for a new prison. This was completed 
in 1868 at a cost of $139,440.87, and is still in use. 

In the latter part of 1799 preparations were begun 
for the construction of a new court house, and the work 
was steadily pushed until it was completed and oc- 
cupied in 1804. It was principally brick and the de- 
sign was after the English style of the period. The 
"raising" of the new building evidently was regarded 
as an affair of no ordinary importance, for records 
show that Jacob Grafius was paid $6 for "nine gallons 
of whiskey" used on that occasion! The bell which 
hangs in the tower, and for more than ninety years 
has summoned judges, jurors and litigants to the 
courts, was cast in Philadelphia by George Hedderly, 
and was hauled here in a wagon driven by Gen. John 
Burrows, one of the commissioners, in 1804. 

An itemized bill for the court house has been pre- 
served, from which it appears that it cost $20,417.80. 
It served the county until 1860, when it was torn down 



24 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and the erection of the present building was com- 
menced and finished ready for the March sessions in 
1861. It stands on the site of the court house of 1804, 
and originally cost $41,030, but the repairs and 
changes it has undergone during the last thirty-five 
years have run the cost up to f 100,000 or more, and 
the demands for more room to accommodate the rec- 
ords and officers are now so great that an addition must, 
be made before many years. 

A few statistics culled at random through the re- 
ports for early years will serve to show the steady 
growth of the county. At the October election in 1807, 
Isaac Smith ran for the Legislature on the Republi- 
can ticket and received 894 votes, while Col. Hugh 
White, Federalist, received 441. This was about the 
highest vote cast and indicated a population of 4,017, 
but it undoubtedly was much more. For sheriff, John 
Hays, Republican, had 702 votes, and Seely Huling, 
Federalist, 694. For commissioner, Col. John Mc- 
Mean, Republican, had 751, and Joseph Foulk, Feder- 
alist, 588. Smith lived in Level Corner and Colonel 
White on the flat above Pine Creek. Hays was a 
resident of Williamsport, and Huling lived on the 
south side of the river. Colonel McMean had a farm 
on the "Long Reach," above Jaysburg, and Joseph 
Foulk was a resident of Michael Ross' town. 

At the election in October, 1809, the vote for As- 
sembly was as follows: Henry Wells, 774; John Fors- 
ter, 726. The candidates ran almost "neck and neck," 
Wells only coming out forty-eight ahead in a total poll 
of 1,500. 

Old records show that in 1812 the county had nine- 
teen townships, among them being Athens, Smith- 
field, Burlington, Ulster and Ulalia, all of which are 



#£&*■£ «^^^^^H 



~®B ; 




ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 25 

now in Bradford County. The quota of taxes for Wil- 
liamsport was $60.18. The total assessment for the 
county was $8,307.35. The expenses of the grand jury 
for that year were $236, and the traverse jury $1,059. 
The assessors were paid $106.75, and the election ex- 
penses ran up to $588.45. John Cummings, who ap- 
pears to have had charge of the county prison, was 
paid $12.34 "for keeping deserters." Very likely they 
had been drafted for the war of 1812, as a draft had 
been ordered. The total cost of conducting the 
affairs of the county that year was $5,755.67. Business 
was very much depressed that year on account of the 
breaking out of the second war with Great Britain, 
and many industries came to a stand-still. 

Coming down to 1821, we find an increase in many 
items. The total expenses of the county reached 
$9,157.44. Auditing the public accounts, however, 
only cost $38, and the wages of the commissioners were 
$496. Little printing was required in those days, as 
only $60 was expended for that item. Holding elec- 
tions cost $418.70, but the deputy attorney general, 
or prosecuting officer for the Commonwealth, was 
only paid $17 for fees. Evidently there was little crim- 
inal business that year. There is an item of $30 "for 
ringing the bell" — evidently the court house bell. Ju- 
rors this year cost the county $1,744.78, and the consta- 
bles for attending them and the court received $95. 
This year there were only seventeen townships in the 
county, the loss having been caused by the erection of 
other counties. 

The auditors' report for the last year of the century 
(1895) shows the progress that has been made, when 
compared with some of the figures that have been given. 
Prison expenses were $1,933.34 and printing and sta- 



26 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

tionery cost f 3,016.13. The total court expenses were 
$17,697.78. Among some of the single items in this 
classification were the following: $7,233.60 paid ju- 
rors; constables, $1,212.55, and commonwealth wit- 
nesses, $5,178.70. Forkeeping up, repairing, and wiping 
out bills falling due for bridges, $55,150.20 were paid. 
The election expenses of the county were $6,665.(50. This 
includes the printing of ballots, publishing proclama- 
tions, travel of return judges, &c. Court house ex- 
penses ran up to $5,625, and miscellaneous items 
reached a total of $125,977. The collectors turned into 
the treasury $1,023.S5 tax on dogs, while the county 
paid $1,502.75 as bounty on sheep killed by dogs, many 
of which, no doubt, escaped taxation. The assets of 
the county, consisting of cash in the treasury ($68,085), 
and uncollected taxes, amounted to $237,074.59, while 
the liabilities were $593,499.10. 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 1895. 

At the close of the century Lycoming County had the 
following civil officers: 

President Judge — Hon. John J. Metzger; his term of ten years ex- 
pires in 1899. Salary, $4,000 per annum; paid by the State. 

Sheriff — Frank Fulmer; term of three years expired with 1895. Fees. 

Prothonotary — John E. Hopkins; term of three years expired with 
1895. Fees. 

Treasurer — S. G. Updegraff; salary, ($1, 000 and commission; term, three 
years; expires with 1896. 

Register and Recorded — M. T. Howell; term, three years; salary lim- 
ited by law to $2,000. Term expires with 1896. 

District Attorney — W. C.Gilmore; paid by fees; term, three years; ex- 
pired with 1895. 

Commissioners — L. R. Robinson, Hepburn Goldy, John F. Nicely; 
term, three years; expires with 1896; $3.50 per day. 

Auditors — J. Harvey Dimm, W. B. Delong, C. T. McClarin; term, 
three year's; expires with 1896; $3.00 per day when on duty. 

School Superintendent — J. George Becht; term, thUee years; expires 
in 1S96; salary, $2,000 per annum; paid by the State. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 27 

Coroner — Dr. William Goehrig; term, three years; expires with 1896. 
Paid by fees. 

[The law provides that in the case of death, or accident which inca- 
pacitates the sheriff, the coroner shall take charge of the office and 
conduct the same until a successor is appointed or elected. It is also 
provided that neither the sheriff nor the treasurer can serve two terms 
in succession.] 

Surveyor — Edward J. Eldred; term, three years; re-elected in 1895. 
Fees. 

Jury Commissioners — John Seigel, Harry Bennett; term, three years; 
expires in 1897; $2.50 per day and mileage, when on duty. 

Members of Assembly— H. H. Rutter, Emerson Collins, John T. King; 
term, two years; expires with 1896; salary, $1,500 and mileage; paid by 
the State. 

State Senator — J. Henry Cochran; term, four years; expires in 1898; 
salary, $1,500 and mileage; district, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour and 
Sullivan Counties. 

Representative in Congress — A. C. Hopkins; term, two years; expired 
in '1895; salary, $5,000 and mileage; paid by the United States; district, 
Clinton, Lycoming, Potter and Tioga Counties. 

CITY OFFICERS. 1895. 

Willianisport was made a borough by act of theLegis- 
lature approved March 1, 1806. It was taken from 
Loyalsock Township and its territory comprised one 
hundred and eleven acres. The population was proba- 
bly about 200, as in 1808 it was only 280. Its growth 
was slow for over fifty years. On January 15, 1866, 
when it was incorporated as a city by the Legislature, 
the population probably did not exceed 12,000; but from 
that time on it grew rapidly on account of the develop- 
ment of the lumber industry. The first mayor under 
the charter was J. M. Wood, elected May 17, 1866. His 
competitor was S. M. Grans, the last burgess under bor- 
ough rule. The officers of the city government during 
the centennial year were as follows: 

Mayor— William G. Elliot; term, three years; salary, $900 per annum; 
expired April 6, 1896. 

City Treasurer— Valentine W. Quigel; term, three years; expired 
April 1, 1896; re-elected. 



28 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

City Controller— Staughton George; term, three years; salary, $1,200; 
expired April 6, 1896; re-elected. 

City Assessors— Jacob M. Gable, John M. Thomson, Frederick Graff; 
term, three years; expired April 6, 1896; re-elected. Per diem $2.25, when 
on duty. 

City Clerk — J. J. Galbraith; term, one year; expired April 6, 1896; sal- 
ary $1,000; elected by Common Council. 

Clerk iSelect Council — Hay M. Bennington; term, one year; expired 
April 6, 1896; salary, $200; elected by Select Council. 

City Engineer — George D. Snyder; term, three years; salary, $1,200; 
expires April, 1897; elected by Council's. 

Assistant Engineer — Fred. A. Snyder; appointed by the engineer. 

Draughtsman — H. H. Guise; appointed by engineer. 

Rodman — J. N. Hobart; appointed by the engineer. 

Chainman — F. A. Field; appointed by engineer. 

Market Clerk — A. H. Stead; appointed by the mayor and confirmed by 
Select Council; salary, $400 per annum. 

City Solicitor — W .D. Crocker, Esq.; elected by Councils; term, two 
years; salary, $1,000. 

Chief of Police 1 — Evan Russell; appointed by the mayor and con- 
firmed by Select Council; salary, $80 per month. The force consists of 
fifteen men, at $50 per. month each, and appointed the same as the 
chief. 

Chief of Fire Department — J. W. Miles; appointed by the mayor and 
confirmed by Select Council; salary $75 per month. The fire department 
consists of four steam fire engines, five hose carts, one hook and ladder 
company, and forty-nine men. 

SELECT COUNCIL. 

First Ward— H. P. Keyte. 

Second Ward — John S. Leinbach. 

Third Ward— J. H. Boyer. 

Fourth Ward— H. B. Melick. 

Fifth Ward — Frederick E. Embick, president. 

Sixth Ward — John G. Reading. 

Seventh Ward — L. Mahaffey. 

Eighth Ward — J. J. Crocker. 

Ninth Ward— G. A. Stuempfle. 

Tenth Ward— S. T. Foresman. 

Eleventh Ward — Robert Richardson. 

Twelfth Ward— W. W. Shank. 

Terms expire: 1896 in odd numbered wards; 1898 in even numbered 
wards. 



ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS. 29 

COMMON COUNCIL. 

First Ward— William A. Marsch, Charles E. Cole. 
Second Ward — G. F. Mohn, Hyman A. Slate. 
Third Ward — J. C. Hill, president; Charles H. Ellinger. 
Fourth Ward — H. A. Solomon, H. Ulman. 
Fifth Ward — John Van Fossen, Frank Stutzman. 
Sixth Ward— L. M. Castner, S. N. Williams. 
Seventh Ward— N. T. Funston, Christian Haist. 
Eighth Ward — Samuel P. Hartman, Charles R. Krimm. 
Ninth Ward — Daniel Edler, George D. Hoffman. 
Tenth Ward— W. I. Dreisbach, James T. Thomas. 
Eleventh Ward — Perry H. Bovee, H. K. Grubb. 
Twelfth Ward— Gottleib Waltz, Max L. Mitchell. 

Terms expire: 1896 in even numbered wards; 1897 in odd numbered 
wards. 

Overseers of the Poor — Charles T. Huston, president; D. B. Else, 
secretary; D. W. Miller. Term, three years; elected by Councils; salary, 
secretary, $600; $300 for each of the others. 

Board of Health — John K. Crawford, president; C. W. Youngman, M. 
D., James B. Krause, Esq., D. T. Mahaffey, H. H. Fessler, M. D., D. B. 
Else, secretary. A. Richter, M. D., health officer; salary, $75 per 
month. 

Brandon Park Commission — O. !H. Reighard, Esq., president; Robert 
Neilson, J. F. Laedlein, William G. Elliot, J. Artley Beeber, Esq., L. 
Mahaffey, J. G. Reading, Esq., secretary and treasurer. 

Ross Park Commission — William G. Elliot (mayor), president; F. E. 
Embick, L. M. Castner, J. C. Hill, Esq., George W. Rianhard, secretary. 

In 1895 the valuation of property assessed was $8,883,726. The re- 
ceipts from all sources were about $200,000; expenditures about the 
same. 

CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

The Williamsport School District is governed by a 
board of forty-three directors, and it is independent of 
the municipal government, never having accepted the 
provisions of the Wallace law. The board is officered 
and constituted as follows: 

President — H. G. McCormick, M. D. 
Secretary — Willard M. Dietrick; salary, $600. 

Treasurer — John H. Young; compensation, 1% per cent, on disburse- 
ments. 
4 



30 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Superintendent of Schools — Samuel Transeau, A. M., Ph. D. ; salary, 
$1,800. 

Solicitor — James B. Krause, Esq. ; salary, $200. 

The directors are apportioned as folllows throughout the wards of the 
city: 

First Ward— Hiram Winner, Harry T. Crawford, John N. Rathmell. 

Second Ward — W. E. Page, Harry Koch, Ezra Rathmell. 

Third Ward — Willard M. Dietrick, A. Judson Hartranft, John R. 
Pott, William P. Sands, H. P. Huff. 

Fourth Ward— A. H. Snyder, J. E. Putnam, J. G. M. Long. 

Fifth Ward — Samuel Bubb, John H. Young, H. M. Foresman, L. W. 
Green, W. M. DuFour, M. D. 

Sixth Ward— Charles Spalding, W. H. Holloway, J. Irvin Smith. 
Charles Matthies. 

Seventh Ward— G. F. HagenbucJh, J. O. Bovee, C. L. Reeder. 

Eighth Ward— Louis Schneider, M. D., M. T. Waltz, C. W. Schuman, 
Charles E .Spotts. 

Ninth Ward — Daniel Keeler, Thomas M. Goehrig, Andrew Ott. 

Tenth Ward— H. G. McCormick, M. D., A. H. Kiess. 

Eleventh Ward— Thomas F. Sauerwein, H. G. Fessler. 

Twelfth Ward— H. R. Fleming, Charles A. Quiggle, Charles K. Fisher, 
John W. Wasser, P. M. Coup, George F. Eckenstein. 

The schools, of which there are ninety-niim,are taught 
by ninety-nine teachers. Each school is under the im- 
mediate care of principals, who are charged with direct 
supervision, under the superintendent, of their respect- 
ive grades. W. W. Kelchner, principal of the High 
School, is paid $155.50 per month. 



EXPLANATORY OF THE MAP. 31 



ORIGINAL SIZE OF LYCOMING COUNTY. 



EXPLANATORY OF THE MAP. 

Lycoming, the twenty-first county organized in the state of Pennsylva- 
nia was formed from a part of Northumberland on the 13th day of April, 
1795, and included all the territory formerly belonging to that county 
lying west of the present boundary of said county, including in its tre- 
mendous sweep nearly all of that vast tract of land known as the pur- 
chase of 1784, covering an area of ten thousand three hundred and 
eighty-four (10,384) square miles; and extending as far westward as the 
Allegheny River, and following the course of that stream from Kittan- 
ning to the mouth of Conewango Creek, thence up said creek to the New 
York State line, said streams to be the dividing line between Lycoming 
and Westmoreland Counties. 

On the 2d day of April, 1804, the Legislature of Pennsylvania annexed 
to Lycoming all that portion of Luzerne County lying west of the fol- 
lowing lines: Beginning at the east side of the North Branch of the 
Susquehanna River, on 1 the line between Pennsylvania and New York, 
at such place that a due south line would strike the north-east corner of 
Claverack Township, thence south-east along the line of said township, 
crossing said river to the north-west corner of said Claverack Township; 
thence by the south-west line of said township to the south-west corner 
thereof, and from thence due west on the line separating the counties of 
Luzerne and Lycoming, thereby adding about four hundred and ninety- 
two (492) square miles of territory to the already large county of Lycom- 
ing, making a total area of ten thousand eight hundred and seventy-six 
(10,876) square miles, being nearly one-fourth of the state. 

There were then but a few straggling settlements within this vast 
domain; only here and there, upon the fertile shores of the principal 
streams, had the venturesome pioneer erected his log cabin with a view 
of making a home for himself and family, where fish and game were 
.abundant. The balance of this immense territory was an almost un- 
broken solitude, covered by a dense and gloomy forest, where the wild 
savage roamed unmolested through the valleys and over the mountains 
in search of game. 

The first census was taken in 1790, five years before Lycoming County 
was born, and the population of the entire territory at that time, as 
near as can be ascertained, was about four thousand (4,000). At the 
time of our organization as a county there were no villages inhabited by 
white men and no homes or public edifices had been reared, noted for 
their architectural grandeur; yet some of the log structures of those 
eventful days of hardship and suffering were hallowed by scenes the 
memory of which will live so long as the love of home and country shall 
continue to be the guiding star of civilized people. 



32 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The formation of so large an area of country into a separate county 
bjrought wealth and power to its people, which gave them prestige 
throughout the state, established Williamsport as a county seat on the 
firm basis of assured strength and boundless promise. 

There were but five election districts (see p. 19) in all that great ex- 
panse of territory then known as Lycoming County, and their boun- 
daries were ill defined — there was no way by which all the districts 
could be described by accurate metes and bounds. 

About five years after the county was organized the work of creating 
new counties began and was pushed with much vigor for many years, 
Lycoming contributing cheerfully of her territory for the formation of 
new counties. 

Centre County was formed February 13th, 1800, from parts of Mifflin, 
Northumberland, Huntingdon and Lycoming. 

Armstrong County, March 12th, 1800, from Allegheny, Westmoreland 
and Lycoming. 

Warren County, March 12th, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and Ly- 
coming. 

Venango County, March 12th, 1800, from parts of Allegheny and Ly- 
coming. 

Indiana County, March 30th, 1803, from parts of Westmoreland and 
Lycoming. 

Tioga County, March 26th, 1804, all from Lycoming. . 

Potter County, March 26th, 1804, all from Lycoming. 

McKean County, March 26th, 1804, all from Lycoming. 

Jefferson County, March 26th, 1804, from parts of Westmoreland and 
Lycoming. 

Clearfield County, March 26th, 1804, from parts of Northumberland 
and Lycoming. 

Ontario County, February 21st, 1810, from parts of Luzerne and Ly- 
coming. The name of the county was changed to Bradford, March 24th, 
1812. 

Clarion County, March 11th, 1839, from Armstrong and Venango, part 
of which territory was formerly taken from Lycoming. 

Clinton County, June 21st, 1839, from parts of Centre and Lycoming. 
All originally belonged to Lycoming County. 

Elk County, April 18th, 1843, from parts of Jefferson, Clearfield and 
McKean. All originally belonged to Lycoming County. 

Sullivan County, March 15th, 1847, from parts of Bradford and Ly- 
coming. 

Forest County, April 11th, 1848, from parts of Jefferson and Venango 
— most of which originally belonged to Lycoming County. 

Cameron County, March 29th, 1860, from parts of Clinton, Elk, Potter 
and McKean, all of which originally belonged to Lycoming County. 

The last contribution of territory Lycoming was called upon to make 
for the benefit of her sister counties, was donated to the county of 
Union on the 29th of June, 1861, and is now known as Gregg Township. 

Lycoming has in all furnished 9,963 square miles of territory toward 
'the formation of eighteen other counties. She yet remains the second 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS PROGRESS. 33 

largest county in the state, having an area of 1,213 square miles, sev- 
enty-two election districts, and a population in 1890 of 70,579. 

ONE HUNDRED YEARS PROGRESS. 

Let us, after the mists of a hundred years have cleared away, take a 
retrospective view of the county as she journeys down through the cen- 
tury to her one hundredth anniversary; celebrated in her county town, 
a thriving city of more than 30,000 inhabitants, among stately buildings 
devoted to religion, art and education; her valleys teeming with the 
busy marts of trade, the abodes of refinement and culture, where 
town vies with town in rearing beautiful mansions and adorning the 
structures devoted to public uses; her hillsides and mountain tops dot- 
ted with the thrifty homes of the husbandmen, and waving with the 
richest of harvests, while her population has increased beyond calcula- 
tion. 

Nineteen court houses have been reared for the accommodation of 
500,000 enterprising business men upon the very ground where one hun- 
dred years ago burned the council fires of the savage tribes; the toma- 
hawk and scalping knife have given way to the improved implements of 
agriculture, and we of to-day know only by hearsay that the fields and 
fruits we enjoy were conquered through toil and danger by our 
pioneer ancestors, and transmitted from sire to son in title deeds writ- 
ten in blood. 

From the several temples of justice the mandates of the law are 
quietly executed by citizens learned in the legal profession, and fire 
proof vaults are provided for the protection and safe keeping of the 
'court records, while from the steps can be heard patriotic sentiments 
and great political truths from eloquent lips, which stir her stalwart 
sons to united effort, the influence of which is often felt throughout the 
entire Commonwealth, while her heroic sons have made a name and 
fame for courage and endurance that will be cherished so long as the love 
of liberty lives in the heart of man. There is no other portion of the state 
that can show a better spectacle of prosperity, wealth and refinement. 
The whole of our original territory, embracing nearly one-fourth of the 
state, is now embroidered with railroads and "the iron horse," with an 
eye like the sun, whose sinews are steel and whose breath is fire, rushes 
with untamed speed from the mine to the market, regardless of river or 
mountain. 

It is almost imposible even for the present generation to form an ade- 
quate idea of the amount or value of the products taken from the moun- 
tains and valleys originally embraced within the limits of Lycoming 
Obunty. Information is conveyed to us on the wings of the wind; in 
our morning papers we can read the record of events that occurred only 
the night before in the cities of Paris and London; by the aid of the 
telephone we can audibly converse with persons hundreds of miles from 
us, and yet every year is adding new wonders in the realm of science, 
invention and learning. H. S. LUCAS. 



SOWIiNG THE SEED. 



First Reference to a County Centennial Observance 
in a Public Address. 



Five or six years before the close of the century mark- 
ing the corporate existence of Lycoming County, parties 
in Williamsport, Muncy, Jersey Shore and other places, 
had occasional conversations regarding the approach- 
ing event, and all agreed that when the time came 
efforts should be made to have a demonstration that 
would be creditable alike to the people and the county. 
Nothing, however, in the way of a program was sug- 
gested or agreed upon, and time ran along quietly for 
several years. An occasional paragraph appeared in 
some of the local papers reminding the people when the 
county would be one hundred years old, but beyond this 
there was very little said. 

It was not until the evening of November 13, 1891, 
that the people were publicly reminded of the approach- 
ing event and advised that the rounding on of one hun- 
dred years in our history would be an event of no ordi- 
nary importance, and that they should begin to prepare 
for its observance in a befitting manner. This refer- 
ence occurred in the course of a brilliant address before 
the Williamsport Board of Trade by the Hon. II. C. 
Parsons, who substantially said: 

The centennial of the founding- of the county of Lycoming is near at 
hand, and he suggested that it would be eminently fit and proper to 
make that event the occasion of a celebration such as was never before 
Witnessed by the people of this section of the state. The resources of 
Lycoming County are wonderful to contemplate. It is the second larg- 



SOWING THE SEED. 35 

est in territory of any county in the state, and has every material ad- 
vantage that could be desired. 

Now that its centennial is approaching, he was of opinion that the 
•Board of Trade should take the initiative in preparing for the celebra- 
tion. He suggested the appointment of a committee of fifteen or twenty 
to take charge of the matter. Land should be purchased, leased or 
donated, a building should be erected for the grand industrial exhibition 
of the products of the county. There are many who cannot give money 
towards the success of such a venture, but the committee should go to 
the stone-masons, the bricklayers, the carpenters and the representa- 
tives of all other trades and ask them to give two or three days of work 
on the building. 

Then when the centennial period arrives, we should have a three 
days' celebration of a magnitude that would bring the entire county 
into Williamsport. The first might be devoted to a parade of all the 
organizations in the county, the second to a grand trades' display and 
the third to an imposing meeting of the citizens of the county. 

After discussing the scheme at some length Mr. Par- 
sons declared it as his belief, that if the suggestion was 
carried out under the auspices of the Board of Trade, 
Williamsport at the next census would show a popula- 
tion of sixty thousand. 

This was the first public utterance in the course of 
an address, so far as known, relating to a centennial 
observance, and from that time forth sentiment began 
to grow. At first its growth was slow, but the final 
development was all that could be asked or expected by 
the most enthusiastic friends of the movement. 

Neighboring towns, whose founding antedated the 
county of Lycoming, began to prepare to observe their 
centennial anniversaries. Notably among these was 
Bath, Steuben County, New York, which held its cele- 
bration June 4, 6 and 7, 1893. This demonstration at- 
tracted wide attention on account of the historic asso- 
ciations which clustered around the name of Charles 
Williamson. There was an affinity, too, existing be- 
tween Bath and Lycoming, because it was through a 
portion of what afterwards became the territory of the 
latter that Williamson conducted his band of emigrants 



36 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

from Northumberland in 1792. The road built by this 
adventuresome Scotchman, and which, in many parts, 
still bears his name, ran over the ground where Wil- 
liamsport was afterwards built, ascended Lycoming 
Creek to Trout Run, crossed Laurel Hill, and thence to 
the point of destination. These were the connecting; 
links of sympathy between the two places, which were 
to be welded at the end of a hundred years. 

Next came the centennial of the borough of Halifax, 
Dauphin County, which took place July 18, 1894. The 
rude defensive work erected here by Colonel Clapham 
in the spring of 1756, when he was on his way up the 
river with an armed force to build Fort Augusta, was 
one of the factors in the erection of Northumberland 
County in 1772, which made Lycoming County possible. 
The celebration at Halifax was largely attended, and 
among the distinguished persons present was Governor 
Pattison, who took a deep interest in the ceremonies. 

The next notable event, nearer home, was the cen- 
tennial demonstration at Dunnstown,* Clinton County, 
September 5, 1894. This place was laid out by William 
Dunn as early as 1786, but attracted little attention for 
several years. It was, as has been shown, a competitor 
for the county seat in 1795, and bid fair at one time to 
become prominent, but like unfortunate Jaysburg, it 
was doomed to disappointment; but if Jaysburg finally 
disapi)eared from the map, Dunnstown survived to ob- 
serve its centennial in an imposing manner in the pres- 
ence of a great collection of people. On this occasion T. 
C. Hippie, Esq., of Lock Haven, was the orator, and his 
address' was not only eloquent in language, but bristled 
all over with valuable historical information. 



*Spelled "Dunnstown" and "Dunnsburg" in many of William Dunn's 
deeds transferring lots. 

tFor this address in full see Meginness' Hist, of the Great Island, 
published in 1894. 



SOWING THE SEED. 37 

Surrounded by such influences it is not strange that 
a sentiment in favor of a similar demonstration in Ly- 
coming County should have been gradually formed in 
the hearts of those who retained a spark of love 
for country or ancestry, and it was stimulated and 
Strengthened from day to day as the matter was dis- 
cussed. The seed sown by the address of Mr. Parsons 
germinated in time, sprouted, and became a vigorous 
century plant, whosebranches finally overshadowed the 
whole county. And the culmination of the project 
was so overwhelming that it bore down and swallowed 
whatever feeble opposition a few doubters were able 
to raise against it, and there was such an expression 
of satisfaction, such an exhibition of good cheer and 
enthusiasm on the part of those who never believed that 
failure was possible, that when they saw such a 
magnificent success had been achieved their joy was un- 
speakably great. To detail in full the story of this 
great centennial triumph will be the province of the 
Editor in the following pages, so that the coming gener- 
ations may have evidence in permanent, form of what 
their ancestors did at the close of the first century of 
Lycoming County. 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 



The Part They Bore in Observing the Great County 
Centennial Event. 



In the summer of 1894 friends of the common schools 
of the county became impressed with the import- 
ance of doing something that would arouse an in- 
terest among the pupils of the approaching centen- 
nial anniversary, and cause them to familiarize them- 
selves with the history of the event. By a movement of 
this kind it was believed that an appropriate observ- 
ance could be made to serve not only as a valuable edu- 
cational factor, but by inviting the schools to take part 
in the ceremonies, a more lasting impression would be 
made on the youthful minds, which would be an incen- 
tive to learn more about the history of the county. 

At a meeting of the Lycoming County Teach- 
ers' Exchange, held in the office of the county super- 
intendent, in the court house, July 28, 1894, the 
proposition came up for consideration. At the sug- 
gestion of Superintendent Becht a resolution was 
adopted for the observance by the schools of the 
one hundredth anniversary of the formation of the 
county some time in March, 1895. This same resolu- 
tion also authorized the superintendent to appoint a 
committee of teachers, citizens, and directors to arrange 
a suitable program for such an observance. 

The next meeting of the Exchange was held Septem- 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 39 

ber 29, 1894, when the superintendent announced the 
following committee to arrange for the celebration : 

J. M. M. Gernerd, Joseph H. McMInn, 

C. W. Williamson, Emerson Collins, 

D. W. Shollenberger, J. P. Fleming, M. D., 

D. C. Flanagan, M. D., A. T. Welker, M. D., 

E. L. McNett, F. W. Robbins, 
J. D. Dundore, S. W. Furst, 

W. W. Champion, J. George Becht. 

In the meantime a regular organization had been 
effected by choosing the following officers: President, 
J. George Becht; Secretary, W. W. Champion; Treas- 
urer, Samuel Transeau, A. M., Ph. D. 

On motion of Mr. Collins the chair appointed the fol- 
lowing committee to confer with the Mayor, the Board 
of Trade, and the City Councils, and request them to 
lend their aid to make the celebration a general one: 
Messrs. Collins, McNett, Shollenberger, Foust and 
Champion. 

After some discussion as to the nature and ex lent of 
the celebration, it was decided that the observance by 
the schools should be of a literary and historical char- 
acter, with special reference to the local, and local 
school history of the several school districts; and that 
it would be advisable to hold the school observance 
during the month of March, while all the schools are in 
session. The date was left blank to be tilled at a sub- 
sequent meeting, when a committee on program would 
be appointed. 

It was decided to co-operate, as far as possible, with 
any committees that might be appointed thereafter to 
have a general celebration by the people. 

On motion of Mr. Champion, and amended by Messrs. 
Fleming and McNett, three prizes of $15, $10 aud $5, 
were offered for the best three papers read by pupils 



40 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of the public schools upon some subject of local history 
to be designated by the committee on program. 

The next meeting was held at the office of the superin- 
tendent, in the court house, November 24th, Mr. Becht 
in the chair, when the following business was trans- 
acted : 

Dr. Fleming-, chairman of the committee to confer with the City 
Board of Education, reported that he had communicated wi th the 
president of the board, and that he had accepted the invitation, and 
that a committee consisting- of Messrs. Dietrick, Keeler, Winner, and 
Schneider, were present. And he moved that they and such other com- 
mittees as might be hereafter appointed be elected members of the origi- 
nal committee, which was carried. 

Mr. Dietrick stated that they did not represent the board officially, as 
they had been unable to obtain a quorum at the special meeting, but 
that they rather represented the president of the board, and were pres- 
ent to obtain an insight into the work, that they might bring it properly 
before the board at their regular meeting in December, and assured the 
committee that it would receive the earnest attention of the Board of 
Education. 

Mr. Collins, of the committee to confer- with the Mayor, Board of 
Trade, &c, reported that they had interviewed the Mayor, and Mr. 
Young, President of the Board of Trade, and that they were heartily in 
favor of the movement, and that a general meeting would soon be held 
to take action in the matter. 

Mr. Keeler moved that Dr. Fleming's motion that $30 be offered in 
prizes be amended to read $60, to be equally divided between the county 
and city schools. 

At the suggestion of Mr. MoMinn, and on motion of Mr. Faber, it was 
decided to offer handsome diplomas to the pupil reading the best paper 
in each district upon some subject of local interest in the district. 

On motion it was decided to appoint finance and program commit- 
tees, when the meeting adjourned to December 8th. 

At the December meeting the committees were com- 
pleted and announced as follows: 

GENERAL COMMITTEE. 

W. W. Kelchner, D. W. Shollenberger, 

J. M. M. Gernerd, A. T. Welker, M. D., 

Joseph H. McMinn, D. C. Flanagan, M. D., 

Hon. Emerson Collins, Hiram Winner, 

W. M. Dietrick, Louis Schneider, M. D., 

W. H. Faber, J. F. Fleming, M. D., 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 41 

E. L. McNett, J. D. Dundore, 

F. W. Robbins, S. W. Furst, 
Daniel Keeler, J. W. Fleming, 
H. T. Ames, Esq., W. Ellis Wise, 
Hon. James S. Foresman, J. A. Kiess, 

H. R. Fleming, J. W. Nicholson. 

FINANCE COMMITTEE. 

D. C. Flanagan, M. D., J. A. Kiess, 
Daniel Keeler, A. T. Welker, M. D., 

J. W. Fleming, Samuel Transeau, A. M., Ph. D., 

H. R. Fleming, S. W. Furst, 

W. Ellis Wise. 

PROG-RAM COMMITTEE. 

W. W. Kelchner, F. W. Robbins, 

Joseph H. McMinn, Louis Schneider, M. D., 

Samuel Transeau, A. M., Ph. D., J. M. M. Gernerd, 

E. L. McNett, H. T. Ames, Esq., 
W. H. Faber, j. G. Dundore, 
Emerson Collins, W. W. Champion. 

COMMITTEE ON PRINTING. 

W. W. Champion, D. W. Shollenberger, 

W. M. Dietrick, J. F. Fleming, M. D., 

J. M. M. Gernerd, James S. Foresman, 

Hiram Winner, J. W. Nicholson, 

Joseph H. McMinn, W. W. Kelchner. 

After some discussion, on motion, Mr. McMinn was 
directed to prepare a program for the diploma contest, 
in the several districts. Friday, March 15th, was fixed 
upon as the date for holding the school celebration 
throughout the county. It could not be done on the 
natal day (April 13th), because a majority of the schools 
would then be closed and the pupils dispersed. The 
finance committee was directed to issue slips asking 
for small contributions from the pupils of the schools, 
ranging from one cent to twenty-five, for the purpose of 
defraying the necessary expenses. These contribu- 
tions were to be returned to the treasurer. 



42 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

To stimulate and encourage the pupils the following 
address was prepared and circulated by the committee 
among all the schools: 

On this, the fifteenth day of March, A. D. 1895, 
throughout its present bounds, in about four hundred 
schools, there are at this time fifteen thousand pupils 
joined in harmonious unison in celebrating the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of Lycoming County, as originally 
set forth into a separate territory. 

The occasion that would prompt, such concerted ac- 
tion, with such enthusiastic zeal, over so great extent 
of hill and dale, must be the fruitage of a sentiment 
inspired by the most noble impulses. The very name of 
this day's celebration comprehends the various lines 
of historic experiences that have become blended in 
the evolution of our marvelous national civilization, 
exciting the wonder and admiration of every enlight- 
ened people and a blessed heritage we all enjoy. 

We cannot at this time enter the primeval wilderness 
to greet the first venturesome settler, and follow him 
through his toils and hardships, his rude associations 
and final end through violence and suffering; nor follow 
his successors to the fourth generation, who this day 
live in the enjoyment of the fruit gathered from trees 
nourished by the blood of our ancestors. But we must 
notice some of the more conspicuous lines of develop- 
ment; and as we realize the liberal plane of our present 
religious privileges, we delight in tracing the work back 
to the first advent of Conrad Weiser, that pious old 
German, who was followed by the devout Moravians, 
who penetrated this valley to Christianize the barbar- 
ous aborigines, and left an imprint of pure, self-sacrific- 
ing zeal in the cause of humanity that has acted as 
leaven throughout the century. 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 43 

As we contemplate the unwavering patriotism that 
animates our nation to-day, we recall the baptism of 
blood demanded in expiation of our national sins, 
and back of that the struggle to establish our peculiar 
form of government; and we stand amazed as we view 
that strange scene enacted on the banks of Pine Creek, 
when the hardy pioneers, unconscious of events over 
two hundred miles away, solemnlv declared their inde- 
pendence of Great Britain July 4th, 1776. We think 
of this group of adventurers, scattered upon holdings 
of Indian land, and without the pale of law, joining 
themselves together for mutual protection, adopting 
a code of laws, establishing a court of justice, and so 
administering affairs that the Fair Play Men have be- 
come a part of our local history that has earned recogni- 
tion for their commendable achievements. The cause 
of our fratricidal war reminds us of the day when the 
negro was brought into this valley to endure unwilling 
servitude under a white master, and though his chains 
were not heavy and soon fell to pieces, yet his innocent 
neighbors were destined to suffer vengeance for the 
crime against God and humanity. We think of the un- 
fortunate redemptioner and his voluntary servitude, 
endured for the sake of a principle that has been the 
means of elevating his posterity to positions of the high- 
est honor and dignity. 

We might speak of the Hessians, who came among us 
as mercenaries; the Tories, who originally sought to 
crush the spirit of human liberty; we might even study 
the Connecticut settler, who was once our bitter enemy, 
but like all other sects, nationalities and adventurers, 
have become assimilated into one grand community, 
vieing with each other only in the excellence of good 
citizenship. 



44 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

To humanity alone has been given the faculty of tak- 
ing account of the past, to be used in the present in 
providing for the future; and he lives best who shall 
profit by his opportunities for studying the past, there- 
by benefiting himself and his neighbor, and instead of 
being borne aimlessly along by the current of time, he 
shall strive to faithfully do his part in the activities of 
life, and thus have a part in perpetuating this grand 
government of the people, by the people, for the people 
while time shall endure. 

COMMON SCHOOLS THEN AND NOW. 

Following the "introductory'' was the subjoined pa- 
per, prepared by Joseph H. McMinn, and designed to 
further impress the pupils by contrasting the condition 
of the schools one hundred years ago with those of to- 
day, and therefore show the advance that has been 
made in the cause of education during the century: 

Owing to the sparseness of inhabitants, popular edu- 
cation was not possible for many years after the first 
settlers came west of the Muncy Hills, but wemay safely 
presume that, the Quakers of Pennsdale established the 
first school, then came Jaysburg, or possibly Dunns- 
burg, then Michael Ross' school house on the south-west 
corner of the court house square, Williamsport. Quaker 
Hill, Jersey Shore and others followed until the free 
school system became established in 1834, after which 
the public school soon became considered indispensa- 
ble. 

It can fairly be supposed that the first school houses 
were similar in construction to the pioneer cabin: a 
small building a little longer than wide, made of round 
logs notched at the ends, with joints chunked and 
daubed, puncheon floor, clapboard roof held down by 
poles, one window with oiled paper to admit light, a 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 



45 



chimney built of stones or sticks and mud, with an open 
fireplace, to which a horse daily dragged a large back 
log for the fire. These buildings were erected by con- 
tributions made by citizens in the neighborhood, who 
also subscribed for the salary of the teacher, and among 
whom the "boarding 'round" custom was followed. 
With the free school law came a new style of architec- 
ture. The primitive building gave way to an octagonal 
structure, built of sawed lumber, with a shaved shingle 






'~w 



^Vi 







So 1 \> iM 



THE SCHOOL HOUSE OF 1795. 

roof, surmounted by a small cupola. Windows of 8x10 
bull's eye glass allowed the light to enter and a ten- 
plate stove, invented by Ben Franklin, furnished the 
heat. The teacher and older boys usually cut the wood. 
In the course of time these buildings fell iuto decay and 
were replaced by the brick or frame, painted and com- 
fortable buildings we now see on every hand, where 
modern furniture is used, and stone coal is burned for 
fuel. 

Methodical text books and many ingenious appli- 
ances, now familiar to all, a century ago were undreamed 
of. The school furniture, until a comparatively recent 
date, was very rude, consisting of long box-like desks, 
with benches for the older pupils, while the little ones 

6 



46 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

were seated upon a long slab turned flat, side up and 
resting- upon stakes driven into auger holes bored near 
the end. The little tots would be required to sit upon 
these benches without support for the back, and the feet 
hanging clear of the floor, until the sharp edge would 
cut and the limbs get numb and the little one fall off only 
to get switched by the teacher, or getting asleep, a little 
pity would prompt the teacher to carry the helpless 
child to a convenient, corner, to be covered with a coat 
until the nap was finished. 

The early schoolmasters were nearly all Irishmen, 
mostly men of scholarly attainments and marked pecu- 
liarities. They were professional pedagogues who had 
been so familiar with the customs of the Emerald Isle 
that they seemed to feel lonesome without some 
approach to them, and bethinking themselves of the re- 
quirement in Ireland that every pupil bring along with 
him to school each day a sod of turf to keep up the fire, 
so here, in the absence of turf, they were required to 
bring in the wood. Instead of the shelalah they used 
frequent and copious doses of hickory oil to assist the 
young idea how to shoot as they droned out the lessons 
on the three lis. T3ie stupid scholar was stood upon 
an elevated spot and adorned with a conical hat bearing 
the title of "fool" or "dunce." As a rule, the teacher 
had his undisputed way until the close of the term, 
when he became the victim of many rude tricks. Bent 
pins upon his chair would announce the opening of hos- 
tilities, to be followed by barring out, smoking out, put- 
ting him in a box and some vile pranks not to be men- 
tioned, but as a rule the teacher or "master" was re- 
spected by his pupils and held in esteem throughout 
life. In some communities the German element pre- 
dominated, where instruction was given exclusively in 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 47 

that tongue. In places of mixed nationalities much 
bitterness frequently arose in selecting a teacher. At 
one time a riot was imminent at Jaysburg between the 
Holland Dutch and the Scotch-Irish, which was only 
averted by the erection of two buildings for the accom- 
modation of pupils in each language. 

In those days children dressed in homespun or the 
tanned skins of animals, and would trudge as much 
as four miles to school, over lonely forest paths or un- 
frequented roads. The schools were taught only in 
winter, when both teacher and pupil could be spared 
from the arduous toil of clearing up. 

Text books were not yet invented, and the teacher 
would take a piece of keel or charcoal and print the let- 
ters on the wall or on the front of his desk, from which 
the little ones standing in a row would learn their a-b 
abs. The more advanced pupils studied a spelling- 
book and read from a Bible, prayer book or newspaper 
that happened to be found in the settlement. In after 
days, when the Yankee schoolmaster made his appear- 
ance with Daboll's arithmetic and the New England 
primer, although bringing with him an atmosphere of 
advanced American ideas and for the cudgel substi- 
tuted a droll wit, with fun and frolic for his weapon, 
yet the memory of the old quarrel with the Connecticut 
settlers prejudiced the older people against him, and it 
was derisively said that he came with a spelling book in 
one hand and a halter in the other hunting a "deestrick 
school." But innocent of the cause of these slurs, and 
chock full of conceit, he traveled about starting sub- 
scription schools, then introduced the "spellin' skeule" 
and "sing-in' skeule," "writin' master" and the debate, 
until the youth soon found out that it was jollier than 
a "corn huskin'," for belle and beau, to snuggle up 



48 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

in a bear robe or wolf robe and with horse and juniper 
skip over the crisp snow to spend the evening in some 
school house gathering'. The art of writing was a most 
difficult achievement in those days. The teacher was 
kept busy at recess time or noon, or both, mending quill 
pens, and when the pupils got fairly at work trying to 
make strokes and pot hooks, the scratching of the pens 
and the lolling of the tongues was something of a scene 
that baffles description. But in testimony of the fact 
that they learned to write, let the old documents be re- 
ferred to, where the work is done ou parchment, or let 
any one take the well-merited time to examine the first 
court records of this county, kept by John Kidd, clerk, 
for a season of first-class astonishment. It may be 
here stated that a late citizen of this county, a civil en- 
gineer and formerly a school teacher, was heard to say 
about forty years ago that no child of his should ever 
use a steel pen with his consent. 

As we look back upon those days of privation and dis- 
comfort, we wonder what they gained by their school- 
ing, but we find by following out the lives of our most 
useful men that they attended a nursery of mental 
giants who have come forth as authors, statesmen, jur- 
ists, generals, merchants, patriots and others who have 
left an unfading record upon the tablets of history, and 
we conclude that they obtained a foundation for a use- 
ful life, a realizing sense of the possibilities of human 
effort, an appreciation of the privileges of a free coun- 
try, a spirit of patriotism which led them to freely 
give their lives that this nation might not perish, but be 
perpetuated to the end of time and their posterity live 
to enjoy unmolested the grandest opportunities and the 
greatest blessings ever allotted to the human race. 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 49 

THE SCHOOL PROGRAM. 

The following program of the exercises to be observed 
by the pupils on the day of celebration was prepared 
and distributed among the schools by the committee: 

1. Salutation of the Flag. (Each school should supply small flag.) 

2. Invocation. — Reading 23d Psalm, Lord's Prayer in concert. 

3. Singing. — "America." 

4. Introductory Address. — McMinn. (To be read by teacher.) 

5. Declamations. — Selected. 

a. "The Men to Make a State." 

b. "Love of Country." (Poem.) 

c. "Our Education Must be American." 

(Teachers will use the above as their program may require.) 

6. Diploma Contest — Paper on Local History of School District. 

The committee will give a handsome diploma for the best 
paper read in the schools of each district upon subjects of local 
interest to the respective districts, as suggested by the outline 
furnished by the committee, and subject to 'the rules governing 
same. 

7. Singing. — "Marching Through Georgia." 

8. Historical Sketch of Lycoming County. — Meginness. (To be read 

by advanced pupil.) 

9. General Prize Contest. — "The Public Schools." (To be historical 

as far as possible.) The committee offer $60.00 in prizes for the 
best six papers read at the celebration and prepared by pupils 
of the public schools; $30.00 to the pupils of the county schools, 
and $30.00 to the pupils of the city schools: First $15.00, second 
$10.00, and third $5.00. 

10. Singing. — "Battle Hymn of the Republic." 

11. Paper. — "The Public Schools — Then and Now." 

12. Closing. — "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow." 

Teachers were urged to make an earnest effort to 
carry out the program ; and they were especially urged 
to carry out the ideas of the committee in the diploma 
and prize contests. 

Mr. McMinn, in the preparation of the supplemental 
program, assigned one or more topics in every district, 
borough, and ward of the city, for pupils to write upon, 
believing that if the papers were carefully prepared a 
great deal of interesting local history could be rescued, 
which otherwise would soon be lost beyond recovery. 



50 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

In the preparation of these papers the pupils were ad- 
vised to consult the older x>eople of their districts, men 
and women who were supposed to have special knowl- 
edge of the various matters of interest, as well as such 
histories of the county as might be available. All pa- 
pers prepared under numbers six ami nine of the pro- 
gram were to be sent to the secretary of the committee, 
who would see that they were tabulated and preserved. 
The idea of the committee worked well. A very large 
amount of local history in all parts of the county was 
collected. Many of the papers were meritorious pro- 
ductions and elicited much commendation from the 
teachers, and many were afterwards published by the 
local press. And in preparing these papers the pupils 
learned much about the history of their county aud the 
trials and sufferings of the pioneer settlers. The work, 
therefore, was not only made interesting to those en- 
gaged in it, but it became a powerful, yet silent, histori- 
cal educator. 

REPORT OF THE DIPLOMA AND PRIZE COMMITTEE. 

The committee to decide upon the winners iu the di- 
ploma and prize essay contests held throughout the 
county, on the occasion of the county's centennial by 
the public schools, had an arduous task to perform. 
The names of the successful contestants for diplomas 
and prizes are given herewith, together with the local 
subject on which they wrote: 

Williamsport High School — "Newberry in Time 
Past," Frances Stevenson; "Blooming Grove," Eleanor 
Grove; "Black 01," Allicia Sigfried; "The Maynard 
Mansion," Jennie Pool; "The Russell Inn, 11 Jennie 1). 
Davis; "The Old Canal," Clifford Heilman; "Early Rail- 
roads," Elizabeth E. Jewett; "Market Street Bridge," 
Nellie C. Pott; "The Sutton Farm," Edwin Wilkinson; 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 51 

"Slavery in Lycoming County," Mabel Hostetter; "The 
Old Furnace," Emma Vollmer; "Gamble Township," 
Loretta Cummings; "Potter's Basin," W. S. Bastian; 
"The Boat Yard," Eva Winner; "Michael Ross and 
His Plantation," Lester McFadden; "The Octagonal 
School House, Montoursville," Alice Kragle; "Hon. 
William Hepburn and Deer Park Farm," Margaret Up- 
degraff ; "History of the Fourth Ward," Carrie McMinn ; 
"Montoursville," Estella Bubb; "Cascade Township," 
Emma C. Whiteman; "Lumbering Industry of the Fifth 
Ward," George S. Tayer; "The Sixth Ward," Margaret 
Shale; "The Fifth Ward," Ellis McMinn, (A junior, High 
School Building); "The Williamsport Academy," Wal- 
ter J. Kurtz; "Michael Boss, Plantation and Mansion," 
Harriet N. Beugler; "Early History of Newtown," John 
Edward Hess; "Jaysburg," Emma Rosecrans; "Lippin- 
cott's Operations," Arthur Wilson; "History of Jays- 
burg," Agnes Brown; "The Old Furnace," Jennie Ellis; 
"The Russell Inn," Emma Forster; "Lost Streams," El- 
eanor Hoagland; "Dickinson Seminary," Jennie Smith; 
"The Furnace," Elizabeth Hunt; "Newberry," Hart- 
man Farley; "The West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna River," Martha Gohl; "Public Schools," Edith 
Reider; "The Public Schools," George IT. Young; "The 
Public Schools," William B. Hough; "The Free School 
System," Wilmot C. Stone; "The Little White School 
House," Grace Heilhecker; "Our Public Schools of 
Pennsylvania," George S. Trayer;"Our Public Schools," 
Florence Wise; "Williamsport in 1840," Alice Taylor. 

Stevens Building — "Bits of History," Ross A. Mills; 
"The Sixth Ward," Elizabeth M. Foley; "The Public 
Schools," Marguerite Taylor; "The Little White School 
House," Albert B. Heimes; "The Hepburn Mansion," 
Bertha Sheffer; "Early History," Ella Kostenbauder; 



52 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

"Local History," Ada Cummings; "The Connecticut 
Claims," Anna Callaghan; "Rapid Transit," Mazie B. 
Hill; "Camp Susquehanna," William Reed; "The Big 
Runaway," Norman E. Henry; "The Massacre at the 
Brook," Edgar Munson. 

Market Street Building— "The Eighth Ward," Mabel 
Cronkrite; "Progress of Williamsport," Lloyd Sallade; 
"The Settlement of the West Branch Valley,-' Charles 
E. Welteroth; "A Well-Known and Popular Educa- 
tional Institution," Margaret Forster; "Dickinson Sem- 
inary," Edna Clark; "Williamsport," Fred P. Dates; 
"Churches and Schools of Lycoming County," Maud M. 
Smith. 

Franklin Building— "The Old Furnace," Sallie Gar- 
vey; "A Short History of Lycoming County," David 
Louis Levi; "History of Second Ward," Layton Hart- 
ranft; "A Short History of Lycoming County," Nellie 
G. Dietrick. 

Washington Building — "Early Incidents of the Third 
Ward," Josephine McMinn; "Schools of Lycoming 
County," Mollie Weiss; "Some of the First Schools of 
Williamsport, ,, John Hopkins; "Local History," Wil- 
liam Robinson; "The Public Schools of the Third 
Ward," Josephine McMinn. 

Jackson Building — "History of Newberry," Blanche 
Campbell; "Newberry — Seventh Ward," Maud Trout; 
"Jaysburg," Kate Murnane; "Fort Huff," Nell Mur- 
nan; "The Old Stockade," . 

Clay Building — "The Sixth Ward," Helen Wagner. 

Emery Building — "History of Twelfth Ward," Laura 
Belle Scholl. 

Unknown Building — "Schools," Priscilla E. Sands. 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 53 

GENERAL, PRIZE CONTEST. 

First prize, |15. "The Public Schools of Pennsylva- 
nia," Edith Bennington, junior Williamsport High 
School. 

Second prize, $10. "The Public Schools," J. Milnor 
Dorey, senior Williamsport High School. 

Third prize, $5. "The Public Schools of Pennsylva- 
nia," William T. Mclntyre, senior Williamsport High 
School. 

THE COUNTY SCHOOLS. 

Armstrong — "The Public Schools," Ida Smith. 

Anthony — "Early Settlers and Industries," G. M. 
Robinson. 

Brady — "White Deer Valley," Annie M. Shaffer. 

Cogan House — "Lumbering," A. J. Stroud; "Schools, 
&c," Harry E. Campbell; "Lumbering, Past and Pres- 
ent," C. B. Oollister; "Early Mail Routes," Charles Max- 
well, age nine; "Early Schools," Edna Quiggle; "Min- 
eral Resources," Merton L. Taylor. 

Clinton— "History of School District/' Arthur E. 
Adams; "Clinton Township," Luther Gross; "History 
of Clinton Township," Albert Decker. 

Cascade — "Cascade," Edward J. McLaughlin. 

DuBoistown — "Local History- of DuBoistown Bor- 
ough," J. C. Smith. 

Eldred — "Local History of Eldred Township," Jacob 
Moyer; "Quaker Hill," Joseph Heim. 

Gamble — "History of Gamble Township," Debbie 
Calvert; "Rose Valley," ; "Gamble Town- 
ship," J. W. Steiger. 

Franklin — "The Public Schools," Harry I. Arthur; 
"Local History of Franklin Township," Brady Bartlow. 

Hepburn — "Blooming Grove," Reuben Uliner; "The 

7 



54 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Dnnkard Church,'' Maurice Snyder; "Blooming Grove 
and the Dunkard Church," Annie Simmers; "Hepburn 
Township," Alvin Mutchler. 

LTughesville — "The Hughes ville Schools," Lee R. 
Parker; "The Early Schools of Hughesville and Vicin- 
ity," William T. Price; "Public Schools," George K. 
Warn. 

Jersey Shore — "Academies of Jersey Shore," Marga- 
ret Stevenson; "Churches of Jersey Shore," Mary W. 
Seely; "Sunday Schools of Jersey Shore," Helen Blair; 
"A Local Historical Sketch," Ruth Stuart, Grammar 
School; "The New Jersey Shore People," Virginia Hill; 
"Historical Sketch," Ralph Stevenson. 

Jackson — "Jackson Township," Delia G. Miller. 

Mill Creek — "Pioneers," Harrie Lipp. 

Limestone — "The Public Schools," James T. Zerbe; 
"Water Courses, Sink Holes and Minerals," Sadie 
Koons; "Limestone Township," Mabel Pearson. 

Loyalsock — "McKinney's Forge," S. S. Strieby; "His- 
tory of Loyalsock Township," Annie Hagerman. 

Lewis — "Lumber and Bark," Boyd L. Caldwell; 
"Lewis Township," Ollie Sayers; "History of Lewis 
Township," Nellie Mulcahy. 

Moreland — "Agriculture," Nora Sloanaker; "Lumber- 
ing," Tessie Derr. 

Muncy Creek — "History of Muncy Creek Township," 
Romaine C. Hassrick; "The Quaker Colony," . 

Montoursville — "The Montour Reserve," E. Heiny; 
"The Loyalsock," Delia Meyer; "The Industries of Mon- 
toursville," Blanche Woolever; "The Public Schools," 
Evelyn Heiney. 

Mifflin — "History of Mifflin Township," Loretto 
Losch. 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 55 

Montgomery — "Industries," E. M. Burley; "The 
Montgomery Family,'" Agnes Maneval; "Churches," 
Laura Kennedy. 

Mclntyre — "History of Mclntyre Mines," Sarah Wil- 
lis; "Mclntyre Mines and Incline Plane," Marguerite 
A. Egan; "Mclntyre Mines, Incline Planes and Fire 
Clay," Catharine B. May; "Mines and Inclined Plane at 
Mclntyre," Muriel E. Bell. 

Muncy Township — "Samuel Wallis," Chester Mc- 
Connell; "Samuel Wallis, the Pioneer," Bertha Tule; 
"The First Roads," Elva McConnell. 

Muncy Borough — "Mrs. Life's School," Eva Ditz- 
ler; "Samuel Wallis," Eugene G. Barr; "The Lycoming 
County Normal School," ; "The Public- 
Schools," Joshua Bell. 

McNett — "History of McNett Township," Beatrice 
McNett. (This paper is deserving of special mention 
for the thoroughness with which it covered the local 
history of the township.) 

McHenry — "Jersey Mills," Maud Campbell; "Stone 
Quarries," Frank Andrus. 

Plunkett's Creek — "Lumbering and Tanning," Pearl 
Shrimer; "Tanneries and Lumber," Annie Morris; "The 
Old English Colony," Amy B. Hill. 

Piatt — "Early History," Emma B. Haines; "Piatt 
Township," Ralph Riddell. 

Porter — "The Walker Tragedy," Susie Fillman. 

Picture Rocks — "History of Picture Rocks," Frank 
Arnold; "Picture Rocks," Ora Fleming; "Early His- 
tory of Picture Rocks," Loda Sanders. 

Pine — "History of Pine Township," Lee Carson; 
"Lumber Resources," Bertha M. Rogers. 

Upper Fairfield— "The Public Schools," Hiram V. 



56 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Fry; "Upper Fairfield Township," Alice Winters; "His- 
tory of Upper Fairfield," Walter S. Hayes; "Local His- 
tory of the Township," Clarence W. Guinter. 

Shrewsbury Township — "History of Shrewsbury 
Township," "Lumber," Mabel Neuman; "Highland 
Lake," Alice Foust. 

Salladasburg — "Early History and Industries," 
Charles Dandois; "Salladasburg," Carrie Missimer. 

Nippenose — "History of Antes Fort," Alice An- 
drews; "Public Schools of Nippenose Township," Millie 
Custard. 

South Williamsport — "History of South Williams- 
port," Lillie O'Neill; "Industries," Annie Hain; 
"Churches," May Crooks; "Local History of South Wil- 
liamsport," J. Fred McMurray. 

Wolf — "History of Hughesville and Vicinity," Al- 
mora Lorah; "History of Wolf Township," Russell 
Foust; "Wolf Township," Robert McHenry; "Wolf 
Township, Its History," Mabel Buck. 

Woodward — "Level Corners," Oscar F. Edler; 
"Woodward Township," Pearl Carpenter. 

Washington Township — "Washington Township," 

; "History of Washington Township," Mame 

Ballet. 

GENERAL PRIZE CONTEST. 

After due consideration of the papers handed in by 
the schools of the county in the general prize contest, 
the committee considered it but just and equitable to 
modify the award and grant six prizes of equal value, 
instead of a first, second and third prize as originally 
provided for. The merits and demerits — non-com- 
pliance with the rules laid down by the committee — 
make the six papers selected by the committee of very 
near equal value, no one of them having such superior 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 57 

merits over the others as would, in the judgment of the 
committee, justify an award of $10, the sum set aside 
for the first prize, and the same rule holds true as to 
all the papers and prizes. The committee has therefore 
awarded six prizes of equal rank of $5 each to the fol- 
lowing persons: 

"The Public Schools," Arthur Kennedy, High School, 
Muncy, $5. 

"The Free Schools," William C. McOlean, High 
School, Muncy, $5. 

"The Public Schools of Lycoming County," Maurice 
L. Snyder, Balls Mills Schools, Hepburn Township, $5. 

"History of the Public Schools," Emma App, Muncy 
Baptist School, Clinton Township, $5. 

"The Public Schools," Edith Young, High School, 
Jersey Shore, $5. 

"The Public Schools," Nellie Felsberg, High School, 
Montgomery, $5. 

W. W. Champion, 
Joseph H. McMinn, 
J. George Becht, 

Committee. 

FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 

The following statement by the treasurer shows the 
receipts and expenditures on account of the school 
celebration : 

WILLIAM SPORT SCHOOLS. 

Annie Donnel, High School, first floor $7 57 

H. F. Walker, Washington building 11 35 

W. M. Avery, Market Street building 10 75 

W. W. Kelchner, High School 4 90 

J. A. Kiess, Emery building 4 50 

J. W. Fleming, Stevens building 12 14 

T. E. Nicholson, Penn building 3 68 

J. W. Gilmore, Webster building 3 00 

A. H. Bingham, Clay building 7 53 



58 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Josie C. Kendig, Lincoln building $ 82 

W. Ellis Wise, Franklin building C 02 

Harry Keyte, Ross building 3 65 

J. E. Williamson, Jackson building 6 15 

T. P. Warner, Jefferson building 2 86 

S. Transeau, Superintendent 1 00 

Total from city schools $85 92 

LYCOMING COUNTY SCHOOLS. 

D. H. Robbins, Quaker Hill school $ 75 

North Eldred school 50 

Minnie Van Wert, Gray's Run school 1 00 

Mae Farley, Hill school 1 18 

Anna Koch, Turkey Bottom school 70 

Emily C. Shomaker, English Mills school 75 

J. W. Stout, South Williamsport school 5 00 

B. E. Bower, Fairview school 75 

Lizzie Kinsley, McLaughlin school 62 

Edgar Reed, Trout Run school 1 12 

Nellie Kinsley, Bodines school 1 30 

Walter Smith, Steck school 41 

S. W. Furst, Jersey Shore school 14 02 

B. D. Fenstamacher, Hoppertown school 75 

D. W. Hiney, Cbllomsville school 55 

Abbie Entz, Hite school 30 

Reebler school 25 

Gertrude Powell, Antes Fort school 44 

S. Viola Bar'to, Fairfield Centre school 15 

Fred W. Priestly, Proctor (1st) school 1 25 

Anna Johnson, Vilas school 1 00 

Unknown f 30 

Carrie App, Baptist Clinton Township school 1 00 

H. E. Harman, Mountain Avenue school, South Williamsport.. 4 00 

G. A. Bower, Texas school 25 

C. M. Konkle, Bald Eagle school 50 

Rebecca Kutz, Pine Street school 30 

J. G. Dundore, Hughesville school 2 00 

Newman's school 40 

L. J. Uhher, Level Corner school 75 

Anna Wise, South Williamsport school 80 

Mame McMurtrie, No. 1, Washington Township 50 

A. L. Pepperman, Martin's school 1 10 

Shrewsbury Township Point school 55 

F. S. Keys, Red Run school, first and second grade, and Langdon 

school 5 00 

Samuel Ellis, Sabone school 20 

H. E. Yorks, Oriole school 1 00 

G. W. Drick, Limestone school 76 

Alice Drick, Sand Hill school 2'5 



ACTION OF THE SCHOOLS. 59 

James E. DeFrain, Factory school $ 75 

Charles Strily, Kelley's school 1 00 

Etta Hartranf t, Valley school 110 

H. P. Decker, Gibson school 1 50 

F. W. Robbins, Muncy school 8 15 

Katherine King - , Harbor school 75 

Daniel Krise, Cogan House school 35 

W. M. Dandois, DuBoistown school 1 25 

Omer Miller, DuBoistown school 1 38 

Miss Davidson, DuBoistown school 125 

Otto Kabel, English Centre school 25 

Flora Brown, first and second grade, English Centre school 25 

W. F. Williams, first grade Picture Rocks school 90 

Bessie Edwards, second grade Picture Rocks 84 

Aggie Ryan, third grade Picture Rocks 76 

Lulu DeFrain, second grade" Collomsville school 60 

Hattie Diggan, Mill Creek School 50 

E. E. Halter, Jersey Shore school 40 

L. G. Kilmer, Montgomery school 25 

Mary B. Wil6on, Warrensville school 55 

Lottie G. Jones, Mcllwain school 85 

Maud Bastian, Independent school 50 

Bessde Cromley, English Mills school 15 

W. A. Manley, Jersey Mills and Tomb's Run school 1 50 

Clara S. Johnson, No. 3 Porter Township school 1 00 

E. G. Shaffer, Clintonville school 1 00 

Mountain Grove school 05 

Muncy Station school 35 

H. G. Phillips, Montoursville school 5 00 

Ida Smith, Road school 1 00 

William Schull, Derr school 35 

W. J. McNamee, Ely's school 58 

Kelley school 80 

Wallis Run school 60 

Slack Run school 1 75 

Sadie McNamee, Ralston, first grade school 2 40 

O. S. Fenstamaker, Guide school 55 

Walter Pierson, first grade Oval school 40 

Alice Brown, Gray school 1 00 

W. Y. Baker, Hillside school 45 

J. B. Denworth, Jr., Primary Oval school 32 

Ross Wolcott, White Oak Grove school 50 

Jennie M. Conley, Primary Ralston school 65 

J. Harry Shoemaker, Loder school 40 

Clees school 50 

Bertha Hoffman, Rose Valley school 1 15 

Chestnut Grove School 25 

Bertha Hurd, Oregon Hill school 1 25 

W. H. Hockley, Glade Run school 75 



60 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Jackson Centennial $ 75 

Charles M. Moon, Mill Creek school 15 

Annie Heyd, Mud Run school 25 

Nora Houser, Maple Hill school 25 

W. W. Entz, Heilman's school 1 27 

A. A. Winters, Pleasant Hill school 30 

John B. Southard, Loyalsock school 75 

T. A. Blaker, Excelsior 50 

Annie Sheets, Maynard Street school 1 35 

Zula Baumgartnetr, Beach Grove school 31 

J. C. Hann and Minnie Hilborn, Montgomery school 4 45 

Ruth Reeder, Farragut school 30 

Belle Montague, Slate Run school 1 19 

J. A. Bulach 25 

J. W. Bulach 25 

Cash received from Superintendent Becht 5 34 

Tdtal from county schools $119 54 

Total city schools 85 92 

$205 46 
EXPENDITURES. 

Prizes $60 00 

For Printing >103 71 

For Postage 15 54 

For Services 26 21 

(Total $205 46 

S. TRANSEAU, 
Treasurer. 



COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



Proceedings of the Meetings Held to Consider the 
Question of a Celebration. 



The first public meeting of citizens called for the pur- 
pose of taking steps to properly celebrate the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of the organization of the county, 
convened in the court house* on the evening of Decem- 
ber 4, 1894. It was called to order by Mayor W. G. 
Elliot, who nominated Hon. John J. Metzger for presi- 
dent, and the motion was carried by acclamation. Mr. 
Elliot also moved that James V. Brown and H. C. Par- 
sons act as vice-presidents. 

A. J. Quigley nominated Samuel W. H. Waltz as 
secretary, and Mr. Elliot nominated E. E. Person, W. 
W. Meginness, George E. Graff, F. E. Manson, Edward 
Wolf, H. H. Butter, Charles B. Seely, John W. Grier, 
T. B. Painter, T. E. Grady, Carl Tewell, J. S. Murphy, 
George B. Wolf, H. J. Moore, Leonard Wright, Daniel 
Riley, and J. M. M. Gernerd, as assistant secretaries. 

The meeting being organized, addresses were made 
by J. F. Davis, W. G. Elliot, H. C. Parsons and A. J. 
Quigley, upon the question of a centennial observance 
and the adoption of a plan for carrying it out. 

Mr. Parsons moved that the officers of the meeting 
select one person from each of the various townships, 
boroughs and wards of the county to form a general 
committee to further and carry into effect the objects 

*After this first meeting, all meetings of the committees, Board of 
Managers and directors were held in the United States court room, in 
the court house. 



62 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and purposes of the meeting, which was adopted. He 
then moved that every newspaper in the county be en- 
titled to one secretary in the general committee of the 
Lycoming County Centennial celebration. Adjourned. 

COMMITTEE APPOINTED. 

At the second meeting, held on the evening of Decem- 
ber 8th, the following General Committee was selected : 

Armstrong — Christ Decker, DuBoistown. 

Anthony— W. P. Robinson, Cogan Station. 

Bastress — Mathias Stopper, Bastress. 

Brady — Cornelius Shaffer, Maple Hill. 

Brown — John Hilborn, Hilborn. 

Cascade — Joseph McCrystal, Kellysburg. 

Clinton— Frederick Hess, Muncy Station. 

Cogan House— J. P. Mecum, White Pine. 

Cummings— John G. Wolf, Waterville. 

DuBoistown — Warren Martin, DuBoistown. 

Eldred — M. T. Milnor, M. D.. Warrensville. 

Fairfield — Daniel J. Schoch, Montoursville. 

Franklin— W. L. King, M. D., Lairdsville. 

Gamble— J. C. Wilson, Wallace Run. 

Hepburn— W. M. Howell, M. D., Cogan Station. 

Hughesville, First Ward— Alfred H. Hill, Hughesville. 

Second Ward— J. K. Rishel, 
Jackson— W. H. Crist, Buttonwood. 
Jersey Shore, First Ward — C. B. Seely, Jersey Shore. 

Second Ward — J. Frank Gray, " 

Third Ward— Robert H. Grier, " 
Jordan — Daniel D. Gortner, Unityville. 
Lewis — Charles G. Heylman, Trout Run. 
Limestone — Frank Welshans, Oriole. 
Loyalsock — Thomas Lundy, Williamsport. 
Lycoming — Levi Williamson, Lycoming. 
McHenry — Lorenzo Campbell, Cammal. 
Mclntyre — M. J. C. Woodworth, Ralston. 
McNett— E. L. McNett, Carpenter. 
Mifflin — George Heyd, Jersey Shore. 
Mill Creek— .Mathias Fague, Huntersville. 
Montoursville— Frank Tomlinson, Montoursville. 
Montgomery — Rev. S. M. Mountz, Montgomery. 
Moreland— Harvey Smith, Hughesville. 
Muncy Borough— George G. Wood, M. D., Muncy. 
Muncy Creek— Domer Vanderbelt, Muncy. 
Muncy Township — Ira J. Parker, Pennsdale. 
Nippenose— W. E. Gheen, Antes Fort. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 63 

Old Lycoming — L. A. Pidcoe, Newberry. 
Penn— George Fry, Hughesville. 
Piatt— C. B. Riddell, Larry's Creek. 
Picture Rocks — H. M. Essick, M. D., Picture Rocks. 
Pine — Willard English, English Centre. 
Plunkett's Creek — James Ball, Proctor. 
Porter — M. P. Hepburn, Jersey Shore. 
Salladasburg — F. W. Fetter, Salladasburg. 

South Williamsport, First Ward — Samuel Bastlan, Burlingame. 
" Second Ward — William Sweeley, " 

Third Ward— Valentine Luppert, South Wil- 
liamsport. 
Shrewsbury — Jacob Corson, Mawr Glen. 
Susquehanna — William Riddell, Nisbet. 
Upper Fairfield — Ezra Sweeley, Loyalsock. 
Washington — David Foresman, Elimsport. 
Watson — Joseph Rorabaugh, Tomb's Run. 
Wolf— Charles Little, Bryans' Mill. 
Woodward — B. M. Yost, M. D., Linden. 
Williamsport, First Ward— T. F. Gahan, Williamsport. 
" Second Ward— >H. S. Lucas, 

Third Ward — Samuel Wilson, 
Fourth Ward— Theodore Hill, 

Fifth Ward, first precinct — F. E. Embick, Williams- 
port. 
" Fifth Ward, second precinct — James B. Krause, Wil- 

liamsport. 
Sixth Ward — William Howard, Williamsport. 
" Seventh Ward — Lindsay Mahaffey, 

Eighth Ward— A. J. Quigley, 
" Ninth Ward — Robert B. Johnston, 

Tenth Ward— S. T. Foresman, 
" Eleventh Ward — Harry K. Grubb, Newberry. 

Twelfth Ward— J. F. Davis, Williamsport. 

The selection of the committee having been com- 
pleted, Mr. Parsons moved that it be called to meet 
Saturday evening, December 15th, for the purpose of or- 
ganization and the transaction of such other business 
that might come before it. Adjourned. 

When the general committee convened the chair 
called on Mayor Elliot to state the object of the meet- 
ing, and he promptly responded. Mr. Davis was also 
called on for a like purpose. 

It was moved by Mr. Davis, and carried by acclama- 



64 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

tion, that Judge Metzger be elected permanent presi- 
dent of the committee. He then moved that James 
V. Brown and H. C. Parsons be elected vice-presidents. 
Motion carried by acclamation. 

Moved by Mr. Quigley that Samuel W. H. Waltz be 
chosen general secretary of the committee. Motion 
carried. 

Mr. Quigley introduced the following resolution : 

Resolved, That the president of this centennial committee, Judge 
John J. Metzger, appoint a committee of fifteen to formulate a plan 
of organization, and report to the general committee from all the town- 
ships and wards the best plan to carry out the will of the people of Ly- 
coming County, in order that all the different departments of art, 
science, literature, law, music and agriculture may be fully repre- 
sented in the centennial celebration to be held on the 4th of July, 1895. 

And furthermore, that said committee, when they make a report one 
week from to-day, name two committees, viz., a finance and executive 
committee, which committees shall be permanent. 

And furthermore, that the aforesaid committee of fifteen shall form- 
ulate plans and suggest committees to represent all the respective in- 
terests of Lycoming County in the centennial celebration, and report at 
a meeting to be held in this city two weeks from to-day. 

The resolution was adopted, when the chair ap- 
pointed the following to constitute the committee of 
fifteen: Messrs. Quigley, Elliot, Eldred, Sweeley, Me- 
ginness, Essick, Mountz, Davis, Humes, Engler, Wood- 
worth, Hilborn, Frontz, Hill and Wilson. 

Committee then adjourned to meet December 19th. 

At the meeting on the 19th it was moved by Col. Sam- 
uel Wilson that Abram Meyer, of Cogan House — who 
was present — be allowed to sit as a corresponding 
member. 

John F. Meginness moved that a committee of ladies 
be appointed to assist the antiquarian committee. 
Amended by Mr. Sweeley that the appointment of this 
committee be referred to the antiquarian committee. 

J. F. Davis offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, That each teacher in the county be kindly requested to 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 65 

gpeak to his or her school some time before the close of the school 
term, on the subject of our forthcoming celebration, and ask for infor- 
mation as to any antiquarian relics or matters of interest. 

Colonel Wilson moved that "we recommend the hold- 
ing of the centennial the 2d, 3d and 4th of July." He 
also moved the appointment of the following commit- 
tees: Committee on finance, to consist of nine mem- 
bers; committee on invitation to other counties. 

The following names were suggested for the last 
named committee: Messrs. John J. Metzger, William 
Howard, Addison Candor, J. A. Beeber, Fred Gleim, J. 
N. Kline, Charles Flock, P. B. Shaw and E. B. Camp- 
bell. 

Motion by Mr. Davis that we recommend the appoint- 
ment of a committee on certificates and medals, and 
the following names were suggested: Messrs. Hubert 
Neilson, E. B. Westfall, Spencer Mead, A. G. Palmer, 
Henry Sherwood, Joseph S. Ward, R. E. Evenson and 
G. R. Brown. 

Motion by Mr. Hill that we recommend the appoint- 
ment of a committee on manufactures, and suggest the 
following persons for the same: Messrs. Charles H. 
Bates, John M. Young, Henry Mosser, S. C. Horton, Wil- 
liam Menges, James M. Chestnut, J. R. Rishel, H. J. 
Burrows, Luther M. Otto, A. H. Heilman, Thomas 
Millspaugh, Frank Trump, George Luppert and E. 
Koch. 

Motion by Mr. Meginness that a committee on min- 
eralogy and geology be appointed, and the following 
names were suggested: Messrs. A. Meyer, C. D. El- 
dred, J. H. McMinn, W. W. Kelchner, J. F. Davis, C. K. 
Geddes and Professor Douglas. 

Motion by Mr. Sweeley that we recommend the ap- 
pointment of a committee on music, and would suggest 
the following as such committee: Messrs. C. E. Sprout, 



66 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Gustavus Voelkler, lioscoe Huff, Charles F. Green, W. 
Scott Chappell, Newton Chatham, Preston Gowers, J. 
M. Black, Trevette Maffett, Edward Schley and Elmer 
E. Smink. 

REPORT ON ORGANIZATION. 

At the meeting of the general committee, December 
29, 1894, the committee on organization submitted, 
through its chairman, Mr. Quigley, the following re- 
port: 

To the Honorable John J. Me-tzger, President of the Centennial Com- 
mission, and James V. Brown and H. C. Parsons, Vice-Presidents, 
and others: 

Your committee having- certain duties to perform in pursuance of a 
resolution unanimously passed by representatives from every township 
and ward in the county of Lycoming, would beg leave to make the fol- 
lowing report: 

For Committee on Finance we recommend Messrs. J. V. Brown, J. 
Henry Cochran, H. C. Parsons, iH. B. Humes, A. Hart, J. M. Young, 
Garrett L. Crouse, C. LaRue Munson, T. E. Grady, DeWitt Bodine, Wil- 
liam H. Sloan, D. T. Mahaffey, G. E. Otto Siess and Adolph Niemeyer. 

For Executive Committee — Messrs. John J. Metzger, William G.Elliot, 
J. F. Davis, Samuel Wilson, J. R. Rishel, George G. Wood, Theodora 
Hill, William Sweeley, H. C. McCormick, M. J. C. Woodworth, S. M. 
Mountz, James B. Coryell, A. J. Quigley, H. D. Seely, William How- 
ard. 

For Board of Managers — The finance and executive committees 
.shall constitute a Board of Management, who shall have power to ap- 
point all auxiliary committees, who shall represent all the varied inter- 
ests of Lycoming County. Said auxiliary committees shall represent the 
following objects: Agriculture, music, literature and history, and a 
ladies' auxiliary committee on fine art, music, literature, painting and 
antiquary. 

The Board of Management shall have the entire control of the cele- 
bration, appoint officers to conduct 'the same, invite speakers, allot de- 
partments for the respective auxiliary committees, invite corresponding- 
organizations from different parts of the state and especially to procure 
the co-operation of all the different counties organized out of the ter- 
ritory of which Lycoming County was originally formed. The Board 
of Management shall select the place where the celebration shall be 
held and provide suitable rooms for the reception of articles furnished 
by the auxiliary committees, where they shall be placed on exhibition 
during the centennial exercises. 

The county and city school superintendents, the teachers of all the 
public schools as directed by the boards of school directors, should be 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 67 

invited, to participate in the centennial exercises, and the faculty of 
-Dickinson Seminary and the teachers of all other institutions of learn- 
ing. 

All the ministers and clergymen of churches, who preach the word 
of God, be invited to preach sermons in their respective churches at 
such time as the Board of Managers may direct, and be requested to 
furnish copies to the executive committee. 

The Mayor of the city, Select and Common Councils and all city 
officers, be invited to take part in order to carry out the foregoing plan 
of celebration. 

All the county officers and ex-county officers, as well as all the present 
.and ex-senators and members of the house of representatives of the 
county of Lycoming, be invited by the committee to participate. 

The general superintendents, as also the division superintendents of 
all the railroads leading into the county, together with the officers of all 
street railways, be invited to take part. 

That all trade and labor organizations, retail and wholesale business 
•men, all manufacturing and professional men, be invited to lend their 
aid in making the celebration an occasion long to be remembered. 

And your committee would further recommend the following pro- 
gram, provided, another day and place be not decided upon by the 
Board of Management: That all the bells throughout the city and 
county shall be rung and all the whistles be blown for the space of 
ten minutes on the morning of the day of opening the celebration at 7 
o'clock. 

That a meeting be called at the court house, or such other place as 
the Board of Management may direct, at 7 o'clock A. M., when proper 
vocal and instrumental music shall be provided and the proceedings 
opened by prayer by the Rev. Julius Herold, after which addresses 
shall be delivered by Hon. W. G. Elliot, and others. 

Convene again at the same place at 7:30 P. M. when an historica.1 
oration shall be delivered by C. LaRue Munson, Esq., and a poem read 
by a gentleman or lady to be selected by the historical committee. 

Committee to have charge of the proceedings of the first day: 
Messrs. J. Artley Beeber, J. F. Laedlein, R. H. Lawshe, G. W. Metzger 
and George Luppert. 

Antiquarian Display — The Board of Management shall appoint a 
committee to look after the antiquarian display; secure suitable rooms 
In the central part of the city for the exhibit, that said rooms be open 
for exhibition for six days, from Monday until Saturday, and from 8 
o'clock A. M. until 6 o'clock P. M. of each day; that the services of a 
suitable person be secured by the committee on antiquary, to take 
charge of all articles presented for exhibition, classify and number the 
'same and see that they are properly cared for, and at the close of the 
exhibit see that they are returned to their several owners, and that we 
would recommend the following committee: J. H. MoMinn, Dudley A. 
Martin, W. C. Hall, C. H. Eldon, J. M. M. Gernerd, A. Meyer, August 
Koch and A. H. Heilman. 

Committee on Centennial Sermons — Rev. D. Maxwell, Rev. James 



68 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Carter, Rev. W. H. Graff, Rev. Gustave Levy, Rev. J. A. Koser, Rev. 
S. G. Reading, Rev. J. M. Anspach, Rev. E. A. Garvey, Rev. G. W. 
Stevens and Rev. J. A. Wirt. 

That all the county and city officials be a committee to invite all the 
/present and ex-county and city officials from all the respective cities 
p,nd counties formed in whole or in part from the original county of 
Lycoming, to participate in the centennial celebration. That all of 
these respective committees preserve and furnish to the secretary all 
correspondence on the subject. 

A. J. QUIGLEY, 
JOHN HILBORN, 
J. F. DAVIS, 
H. B. HUMES, 
S. M. MOUNTZ, 
SAMUEL WILSON, 
THEODORE HILL, 
WILLIAM SWEELEY, 
W. G. ELLIOT, 
DANIEL G. FRONTZ, 

Committee. 

On motion of Mr. Mountz the report of the committee 
was adopted. 

Mr. Davis offered the following resolution: 

That the centenarians in the county of Lycoming and the counties 
since formed in whole or in part out of Lycoming, as it was a hundred 
years ago, be invited to participate with us, and that they be accorded 
a prominent place in our proceedings. 

Adopted. 

Mr. Quigley then moved that the Board of Managers 
meet the second Saturday in January, 1895, when the 
committee adjourned to meet four weeks from date. 

BOARD OF MANAGERS. 

The Board of Managers met January 12, 1895, Judge 
Metzger in the chair. Present, Messrs. Mountz, Grady, 
Wood, Quigley, Elliot, Hill, Brown, Sloan, Davis, Swee- 
ley, Woodworth, Howard, Siess and Cochran. 

Mr. Hill nominated J. V. Brown for president of the 
hoard. Elected by acclamation. He then nominated 
A. J. Quigley for vice-president. Elected by acclama- 
tion. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 69 

Mr. Quigley nominated Samuel W. H. Waltz for sec- 
retary of the board. Elected by acclamation. 

Mr. Elliot nominated William H. Sloan for treas- 
urer of the board. Elected by acclamation. 

Motion by Mr. Sweeley that nine members of the 
board constitute a quorum to do business. Carried. 

Motion by Mr. Quigley that the chair appoint a com- 
mittee of three to wait on the corporations of the city 
with respect to raising revenue for the centennial. Car- 
ried. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Elliot, Siess and Howard. 

Mr. Quigley offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the secretary of the centennial committee or Board 
of Managers shall procure subscription books, in the first rage of which 
shall be written or printed certificates.signed by the secretary and chair- 
man of the finance committee, authorizing every member of the com- 
mittee from each of the respective townships, wards and boroughs to 
solicit subscriptions for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the 
aforesaid centennial celebration, and they shall report from week to 
week to the treasurer the amount of subscriptions received, and at the 
proper time, as the finance committee shall direct, return all of theiir 
•respective books with the amiount collected. 

Motion by Mr. Sweeley that the resolution be 
adopted. Carried. 

The board then adjourned. 

Board of Managers met January 19th, and the presi- 
dent and vice-president both being absent, Mr. Cochran 
was chosen president pro tern. Present: Messrs. 
Cochran, Sloan, Wilson, Davis, Sweeley, Hill, Elliot, 
Siess, Howard and Humes. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that the secretary and treasurer 
be authorized to procure the necessary books, &c, for the 
committee. Carried. 

The committee to visit corporations for the subscrip- 
tion of funds reported no progress and was continued. 

Mr. Sweeley presented the following resolution: 

Resolved, That when we adjourn we adjourn to meet with the Gen- 
9 



70 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

eral Committee the fourth Saturday in January, at which the date of 
'holding - the centennial be settled finally; also the names in which the 
necessary funds shall be collected (if necessary), and that each member 
of the committee be notified by mail to be present at that time. 

Mr. Sloan moved the adoption of the resolution. 
Carried. 

The board then adjourned. 

GENERAL COMMITTEE. 

The General Committee met January 26, 1895, Judge 
Metzger in the chair. 

Mr. Wilson moved that the celebration of the one 
hundredth anniversary of the erection of Lycoming 
County and the founding of the city of Williamsport be 
fixed for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, being 
the 2d, 3d and 4th of July, 1805. Carried. 

Mr. Foresman moved that the finance committee be 
authorized to raise a fund to the amount of $25,000, to 
be apportioned among the several townships, wards 
and boroughs of the county according to the assessed 
valuation of the same, and that the secretary be in- 
structed to insert the proportionate amount in the sub- 
scription books for each of the various townships, 
wards and boroughs of the county; his payments shall 
be made by check upon orders approved by the finance 
committee; all disputed claims shall be laid before this 
committee for adjudication. Carried. 

Mr. Sweeley offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, That certificates of membership be issued to all subscrib- 
ers to the centennial fund who shall pay $1.00 or more, and that all 
such subscribers be admitted to any building's or grounds that shall 
be- used for exhibition purposes free of charge. 

Keferred to the Board of Managers. 

Mr. Siess moved that this committee recommend to 
the Board of Managers the appointment of a committee 
on rules, regulations, &c, for the government of the 
meetings of the board. Carried. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 71 

The meeting then adjourned to meet one week from 
date. 

At the meeting- of February 2d, in the absence of 
President Brown, Vice-President Quigley presided. 
Present: Messrs. Bodine, Cochran, Hill, Howard, Metz- 
ger, Mountz, Quigley, Siess, Sloan, Sweeley, Wilson and 
Young. 

It was moved by Mr. Hill that business referred to 
the Board of Managers at the last meeting of the Gen- 
eral Committee be taken up. Carried. 

The secretary read the following resolution: 

Resolved, That certificates of membership be issued to all subscribers 
to the centennial fund who shall pay $1.00 or more, and that all such 
subscribers be admitted to any buildings or grounds that shall be used 
for exhibition purposes free of charge. 

Adopted as read. 

Mr. Mountz moved that the chair appoint a committee 
of three on rules, regulations, &c, for the government 
of the Board of Managers. Carried. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Siess, Sweeley and Hill. 

DIRECTOR GENERAL ELECTED. 

Mr. Wilson moved the Board of Managers proceed to 
the election of a suitable person to act as Director Gen- 
eral of the Centennial Association of Lycoming County; 
that he shall be paid a fair salary, and that he devote 
his entire time to furthering the interests of this asso- 
ciation, and that he shall hold his office during the 
pleasure of the board. Carried. 

Mr. Metzger moved to proceed, to the election. Car- 
ried. 

Mr. Metzger nominated Mr. H. S. Lucas. 

Mr. Sweeley nominated Mayor Elliot. 

Mr. Metzger moved that the nominations close. Car- 
ried. 



72 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The ballot resulted in the election of Mr. Lucas by a 
vote of nine to two for Mr. Elliot. 

Mr. Metzger moved that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed to notify Mr. Lucas of his election and solicit 
his acceptance. Carried. 

The chair appointed the following committee: 
Messrs. Metzger, Cochran and Siess. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed to recommend to the board a suitable place 
to hold the centennial exposition and report at a subse- 
quent meeting. Carried. 

The chair appointed the following committee: 
Messrs. Sweeley, Wilson and Howard. 

Mr. Metzger moved that we reconsider the vote fixing 
the date of the centennial for the 2d, 3d and 4th of 
July, 1895. Carried 

Mr. Metzger moved that the General Committee be 
notified to convene in special meeting for the purpose of 
voting upon the question of reconsidering the vote 
fixing the time of the celebration. 

Mr. Hill presented the following resolution: 

Resolved, That hereafter, and until otherwise ordered, the chairman 
of each committee connected with the Centennial Association make a 
vweekly report to the Board of Managers of the work done by his com- 
mittee the previous week in furthering- the interests of the association. 

Resolution referred to the committee on rules and 
regulations. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that the name of Mr. Abram 
Hart, of Williamsport, be added to the finance com- 
mittee. Carried. 

The board then adjourned. 

DATE OF CELEBRATION SETTLED. 

The General Committee met February 16th, and in 
the absence of the president Vice-President Parsons 
presided. The following members were present: 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 73 

Messrs. Waltz, Wolf, Painter, Tewell, Williamson, 
Decker, Piatt, Hilborn, Milnor, Ritter, Bodine, Heyl- 
inan, Engler, Campbell, Nevel, Derr, Wood, Eldred, 
Riddell (O. B.)' Hepburn, Fetter, Sweeley, Corson, Rid- 
dell (W T illiam), Sweeley (E. W.), Gahan, Wilson, Em- 
bick, Howard, Mahaffey, Quigley, Foresman, Davis and 
Parsons, president. 

Mr. Quigley moved that the motion fixing the time of 
the centennial celebration for the 2d, 3d and 4th of 
July be reconsidered. Carried. 

Mr. Wilson moved that the time fixed upon by this 
committee, viz., the 2d, 3d and 4th of July, for holding 
the services of the centennial is still the choice of this 
committee, and that we do most earnestly recommend 
to the Board of Management the adoption and ap- 
proval of the same. Carried. 

Mr. Eldred moved that the Board of Managers con- 
sider the propriety of holding a centennial agricultural 
exhibit. Carried. 

Mr. Sweeley offered the following resolution : 

Resolved, That a committee consisting- of twenty-five ladies be ap- 
pointed to look after the part of the centennial that may come under 
their jurisdiction, and that they be known as the Board of Lady 
Managers of the Lycoming County Centennial, and act in conjunction 
with the Board of Managers. 

Mr. Quigley moved that the resolution be referred to 
the Board of Managers. Carried. Adjourned. 

THE DIRECTOR GENERAL ACCEPTS. 

The Board of Managers met February 16th, Vice- 
President Quigley in the chair. The resolution of Mr. 
Sweeley, adopted by the General Committee, that a 
committee of twenty-five ladies be appointed, was read 
by the secretary, when, on motion of Mr. Sweeley, it was 
adopted. 



74 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mr. Siess then moved that the appointment of the 
Board of Lady Managers be referred to a special com- 
mittee of three. Carried. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Siess, Sloan and Sweeley 
as the committee. 

The following letter from Mr. H. S. Lucas, accepting 
the office of Director General of the Centennial Exposi- 
tion, was read by the secretary: 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : — The importance of the enterprise you 
have undertaken has been carefully considered by me. I am not un- 
mindful of the grea't responsibility which attaches to the office of Di- 
rector General, a responsibility which I almost wish had fallen to some 
one better qualified to perform the duties, which are inseparable from 
this high honor. I grasp the full extent of the duties imposed upon me 
by this board, in intrusting me with the task of directing the affairs of 
the centennial celebration of the mother of counties. 

I accept the trust with grateful appreciation of the confidence re- 
posed in me. I shall bring my best energies to the task, and endeavor 
to perform the duties of the position faithfully and honestly. I shall 
labor with what ability I possess to make the One Hundredth Anni- 
versary of Lycoming County a success in every particular. You will 
not And me wanting in zeal; you can count on my entire devotion, and 
above all, on my vigilance in carrying out the wishes of the Board of 
Directors. 

Gentlemen, I tender you my profound thanks for the distinguished 
honor you have conferred upon me. 

Very respectfully yours, 

H. S. LUCAS. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that the letter of Mr. Lucas be 
accepted and placed upon the minutes of the board. 
Carried. 

Mr. Metzger moved that a committee of five be ap- 
pointed to draft articles of incorporation and have the 
same chartered under the name of the Lycoming County 
Centennial Association. Carried. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Parsons, Cochran, Sloan, 
Wilson and Hart. 

Motion by Mr. Wilson, seconded by Mr. Hart, that 
the compensation of the Director General be fixed at 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 75 

one hundred dollars per month, the time to commence 
the 1st of March and end the 1st of August. Carried. 
The board then adjourned to meet one week hence. 

TARDY MEMBERS WARNED. 

Board met February 23d, Vice-President Quigley in 
the chair. Present: Messrs. Hill, Metzger, Mount/, 
Munson, Siess, Sloan, Sweeley, Young, Hart, and Quig- 
ley. 

The commitee on the selection of a Board of Lady 
Managers reported progress and was continued. 

Committee on incorporation and charter also re- 
ported progress and was continued. 

The committee on location for exposition buildings 
reported two communications — one of which was a 
proposition from Mr. John L. Guinter, manager Lycom- 
ing Opera House; the other was from Mr. Henry Metz- 
ger.* 

Mr. Sweeley moved that the names of all such mem- 
bers of the Board of Managers who shall be absent from 
three regular successive meetings of the board shall, 
after due notice, be dropped from the roll of said board, 
and that, the chairman of the same be duly authorized 
to fill such vacancies. This resolution to go into effect 
after the adoption of the charter. Carried. 

It was moved by Mr. Siess that hereafter the board 
meet Saturday of each week at 2 P. M. Carried. Ad- 
journed. 

Board of Managers met March 2d. In the absence 
of President Brown Vice-President Quigley took the 
chair. A call of the roll showed the following members 



•Mr. Metzger's proposition was to lease the ground north of the St. 
Charles Hotel to the committee for one year, in consideration of one 
dollar, on which they could erect a building; then to have the privilege 
of purchasing the same for the price of the material, when it was no 
longer needed. 



76 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

present: Messrs. Davis, Grady, Hill, Mountz, Siess, 
Sweeley, Wilson, Sloan, Wood, Metzger, Hart and Quig- 
ley. 

The chair called for a report of the committee' for the 
location of the exposition building, and the committee 
was continued. J. F. Davis was added to this com- 
mittee. 

Dr. Wood moved that the committee on selection of 
location be instructed to obtain the plans of the differ- 
ent builders of the city for the erection of buildings and 
probable cost of the same, and obtain the views of such 
persons as have suggestions to make, and report at next 
meeting. Carried. 

On motion of Dr. Wood the secretary was instructed 
to write the Lycoming County Medical Society to par- 
ticipate in the coming centennial of the county, and 
that the society be asked to prepare an article on the 
medical history of the county and its pioneer physicians. 

PLANS SOLICITED FOR A BUILDING. 

There being no quorum present for the regular meet- 
ing of the Board of Managers for March 9th, an informal 
meeting was organized by electing J. F. Davis chair- 
man and H. S. Lucas* secretary pro tern., for the pur- 
pose of receiving plans for a temporary building for 
antiquarian exhibits, and allowing architects to ex- 
plain the same. 

Drafts were submitted by E. Culver & Son, Wagner 
& Reitmeyer and Milton It. Hudson, who explained in 
detail the merits of their respective plans and what the 
same would cost. 

On motion of Mr. Sloan the secretary was instructed 
to notify all members of the Board of Managers that a 

•Director General Lucas continued 'to serve as secretary until the 
affairs of the association were closed in August, 1895. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 77 

regular meeting of said board would be held at this 
place on Saturday, the 16th, at 2 P. M., for the purpose 
of considering the plans submitted by the architects. 

Colonel Wilson moved that the plans submitted by 
the architects be received and placed in the hands of the 
Director General for safe keeping, and that the thanks 
of the association be tendered Wagner & Reitmeyer, 
E. Culver & Son and Milton R. Hudson for the prompt 
and cheerful manner in which they had complied with 
the request of the committee. Adopted. 

Colonel Wilson offered and moved the adoption of 
the following resolution: 

Resolved, That S. W. H. Waltz, secretary of the Centennial Associa- 
tion, be requested to turn over to the Director General, without delay, 
all books, papers and other property now in his hands belonging- to the 
Centennial Association, that the same may be placed in the vault of the 
City Hall for safe keeping and where they may be accessible to the 
Board of Managers. 

Adopted. 

Colonel Wilson was appointed by the chair to make 
the demand of Secretary Waltz. Adjourned. 

The meeting of the Board of Managers, March 16th, 
was attended by all the members, fifteen in number. 
Vice-President Quigley presided. 

The minutes of an informal meeting, held March 9th, 
1895, were adopted and ordered spread on the minutes. 

Colonel Wilson reported that he was unable to pro- 
'cure the books and papers now in the hands of Secre- 
tary Waltz. 

The secretary pro tern, read a communication from S. 
W. H. Waltz, stating that he would be present on the 
23d of March and make a full statement of the financial 
affairs of the association and deliver to the board all 
articles now in his possession. 

Hon. H. C. Parsons was called to the chair, when A. J. 

10 



78 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Quigley offered and moved the adoption of the follow- 
ing resolutions, seconded by Judge Metzger: 

Resolved, 1st, That the committee on location of centennial grounds 
and plan of building be permitted to retire and settle upon grounds and 
plan of building at this meeting, in order that advertisements may be 
'inserted in the newspapers for proposals to the lowest bidder for the 
leirection of said building at the earliest practicable period of time. 

Mr. Quigley called for a rising vote. The secretary 
was ordered to count the vote. Voting in the affirma- 
tive, two; voting in the negative, nine. Resolution re- 
jected. 

Resolved, 2d, That the time for talk should now be over and that it is 
eminently proper that action should now be taken to carry out the plans 
suggested. 

Carried. 

Resolved, 3d, That the pla.ce should now be chosen and the plan of 
building should now be accepted from one or the other of the architects. 

Rejected. 

A postal from J. F. Davis was read relative to plan 
submitted by W. H. Waltz, and giving his preference 
for location at Vallamont. 

Remarks were made on the subject of location by 
Judge Metzger and Senator Cochran. 

Hon. W. G. Elliot with great, eloquence advocated 
the erection of a Home of Comfort, 

Mr. Quigley returned to the chair, Mr. Parsons re- 
tiring. 

Motion by Mr. Hill that the plan of building submit 
ted by W. H. Waltz be considered with those of the 
other architects. Carried. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that we now take a recess of five 
minutes for the purpose of examining the plans submit- 
ted. 

Captain Evan Russell here appeared on behalf of 
the National Guard, and stated that they had in view 
the erection of a substantial building for the purpose 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 79 

of an armory, but could not complete the same in time 
for the forthcoming celebration; that if the Centennial 
Association would put up a substantial structure worth 
about $15,000, that such a building would, without 
doubt, be purchased by the home companies, provided 
the same could be used as an armory. 

Mr. Cochran moved to accept the proposition of 
Henry Metzger for the ground lying north of the St. 
Charles Hotel. 

Mr. Hart moved the following amendment: That 
the committee selecting the site on which to erect a 
centennial exposition building be instructed to secure 
an option on said real estate for the period of one year 
and have the same embodied in the lease. Carried. 

The secretary was authorized to notify Mr. Metzger 
that the Centennial Board of Managers have accepted 
the ground lying between Fifth Street and the St. 
Charles Hotel, on the conditions named in his com- 
munication of February 19th, 1895. 

Mr. Cochran moved that the Director General be 
authorized to substitute names on the General Com- 
mittee and notify the same of their appointment. Car- 
ried. 

Motion by Mr. Coryell that the Board of Managers 
wait until Saturday, the 23d, before adopting plans of 
building, that the architects might prepare and present 
specifications and estimated cost of the proposed build- 
ing in accordance with their respective plans. Carried. 
Adjourned. 

SECRETARY WALTZ RESIGNS. 

Board met March 23d, Vice-President Quigley in the 
chair. Present: Messrs. Cochran, Coryell, Elliot, 
Hart, Hill, Mountz, Parsons, Quigley, Siess, Sloan, 
Sweeley and Wilson. 



80 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mr. Quigley submitted tAvo communications from 
S. W. H. Waltz and asked that the same be read. First 
communication read as follows: 

Willlamsport, March 23, 1895. 
A. J. Quigley and Gentlemen Board of Managers Lycoming County 
Centennial: I hereby resign the office of secretary of your committee, 
the same to take effect at your next meeting; cannot be with you to- 
day, but will endeavor to be present in one week. Yours, truly, 

SAMUEL W. H. WALTZ, 

Mr. Wilson moved that his resignation be accepted, 
to take effect immediately. Carried. 

Second communication as to* receipts and expendi- 
tures: 

Received by contributions $ 54 75 

Expended for printing $ 15 25 

Stamps and envelopes 13 98 

Minute and collection books 7 80 37 03 

Balance in my hands $17 72 

If the board think it a proper and fair statement of the expenditures 
of the funds, I will proceed to make settlement with the treasurer. I will 
render to him an itemized statement, clearly showing upon what date 
and for what purpose every dollar was expended. Have some en- 
velopes and several documents which will also be promptly handed 
over; could have made bill of expense much higher, especially postage 
item, but on a number of occasions made a personal delivery of letters 

in order to save money for the committee. 

S. W. H. WALTZ. 

On motion of Mr. Coryell this communication was 
referred to finance committee. 

A. J. Quigley stated that the two items of $7.80 and 
$15.25 had not been paid. 

PLANS SUBMITTED BY THE ARCHITECTS. 

The chair asked that architects be requested to sub- 
mit their plans and specifications for examination by 
the Board of Managers. 

Mr. Coryell suggested that to be fair with the archi- 
tects no other architect should be present when a plan 
was submitted but the architect interested. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 81 

Mr. Parsons moved that the Board of Managers meet 
on Wednesday, the 27th, at 2 P. M., for the purpose of 
considering the plans of the architects, and those not 
present be notified of the meeting. Carried. 

Motion by Colonel Wilson that John F. Meginness, 
George G. Wood and Joseph H. McMinn be appointed as 
a historical committee, with power to add four persons 
from counties taken from Lycoming, and that they be 
authorized to appoint three persons to deliver historical 
addresses, two of whom shall be taken from counties 
formed out of Lycoming. Carried. 

Colonel Wilson moved that Frederick Heilman, Ab- 
ner Fague, E. W. Michael, Daniel Dietrick, A. K. 
Carothers, Jacob Heim, Delos Mahaffey, Daniel Ul- 
mer and G. P. Smith be made the agricultural com- 
mittee, with authority to add ten members to their 
committee from counties taken from Lycoming. Car- 
ried. 

Colonel Wilson moved that C. K. Geddes, Robert 
Hawley, Walter E. Hitter, W. E. Crawford and W. R. 
Peoples shall constitute the law committee; that they 
be given authority to add six members to their com- 
mittee from territory formerly belonging to Lycoming 
County. Carried. 

Colonel Wilson moved that Dr. Edward J. Gray, Sam- 
uel Transeau, J. George Becht, William W. Kelchner, 
Fred W. Bobbins and W. W. Champion, Esq., be 
elected as a committee on literature, and be given 
authority to add twelve more to their committee from 
counties taken from Lycoming. Seconded by Captain 
Sweeley. Carried. 

Motion by Colonel Wilson that B. H. Detwiler, H. G. 
McCormick, Louis Schneider, George D. Nutt, Joseph 
W. Albright, A. P. Hull and E. W. Cline be appointed 



82 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

as the medical committee with permission to add six to 
their committee from territory taken from Lycoming 
County. Carried. Adjourned. 

At the meeting of March 27th the following members 
of the board were present: Messrs. Grady, Hart, Hill, 
Munson, Parsons, Quigley, Siess, Sloan, Sweeley, Wil- 
son and Wood. 

The chair announced that the plans of architects 
would be taken up and considered as a matter of unfin- 
ished business. 

W. H. Waltz presented his plan of building, ex- 
plained how the same was to be constructed, the kinds 
of material to be used, etc. Size 200x65 feet, and fixed 
the price of the same at $3,500 ; extra for raising floor, 
$250; for partitions, $100; total, $3,850. 

Milton Hudson presented his drawings, explained the 
advantages of his plan and fixed the price of construc- 
tion of a 200x65 foot building at $3,750, with a small 
addition for closets, partitions, etc. 

E. Culver & Son next appeared with plans and speci- 
fications, showing the advantages of a building con- 
structed according to their plan and fixed the price at 
$3,900; additional for partitions, etc., $100; total, f 4,000. 

Mr. Reitmeyer then presented an elaborate drawing 
for a brick structure 200x65 feet, with cellar under one- 
half and intended as an armory building, and gave the 
price of the same as $8,800. He further stated that 
such a building could be constructed from wooden ma- 
terial, without a cellar, for $4,000. 

Mr. Munson offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the Director General advertise for proposals from 
builders, upon the plans and specifications submitted by the architects; 
the bids to be based upon the completion of said building before June 
15th, 1895, under a penalty of $100 per day; all bids to be submitted to the 
Director General before noon April 3, 1895, to be laid before the board 
at a meeting to be held at 2 o'clock P. M. of that day. 

Adopted. Adjourned. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 83 

MEETING OF THE CORPORATORS. 

At a meeting of the corporators* of the Lycoming 
County Centennial Association, March 30, 1895, A. J. 
Qnigley was elected president pro tern, and H. S. Lucas 
secretary pro tern. 

It was moved by Mr. Munson that nine members shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business 
by the Board of Corporators. Carried. 

Mr. Munson also moved that all members of the 
Board of Managers whose names do not appear on the 
charter be elected members of the corporation of the 
Lycoming County Centennial Association under the 
charter. Carried. He then moved that a seal be 
adopted, which was carried, when the Director General 
was authorized to procure the seal. Adjourned. 

The Board of Directors of the Lycoming County Cen- 
tennial Association met immediately after the adjourn- 
ment of the meeting of the corporators, and organized 
by electing A. J. Qnigley temporary chairman, and H. 
S. Lucas temporary secretary. 

A motion by Mr. Munson that nine members shall 
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business by 
the Board of Directors. Carried. 

Mr. Cochran moved that the following be elected as 
permanent officers of the association: James V. 
Brown, president; A. J. Qnigley, first vice-president; 
H. C. Parsons, second vice-president; W. H. Sloan, 
treasurer; H. S. Lucas, secretary and Director General. 
Carried. 

*The charter was granted by the court March 27, 1895, under the act 
of April 29, 1874, to run for three years. There was no capital stock nor 
shares of stock. Number of directors fixed at twenty-nine. Charter 
■members: A. J. Quigley, C. LaRue Munson, John J. Metzger, S. M. 
Mountz, Theodore Hill, G. E. Otto Siess, Abraham Hart, W. H. Sloan, 
William Sweeley, John M. Young, Samuel Wilson, George G. Wood, 
Thomas E. Grady, J. F. Davis, W. G. Elliot, H. C. Parsons, J. Henry 
Cochran, H. S. Lucas. — Book Three, Miscellaneous Docket, p. 718. 



84 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Motion by Colonel Wilson that the committees ap- 
pointed by the old Board of Managers be revised, cor- 
rected and reported to this body on Wednesday, April 
3d, was carried. 

Mr. Sweeley moved that the treasurer, Director Gen- 
eral and finance committee be authorized to audit the 
accounts of Samuel W. H. Waltz. Carried. 

Colonel Wilson asked for the reading of the leases 
between Henry Metzger and wife and the Centennial 
Association. 

ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL. 

The Director General submitted the following rela- 
tive to celebrating the 13th of April: 

The county of Lycoming was formed from a part of Northumberland 
April 13, 1795, embracing a large area of territory lying to the north and 
west of the present county. She has since become the mother of eigh- 
teen large, healthy children. Her offspring to-day occupy a large por- 
tion of the state of Pennsylvania, and their products find a market in all 
parts of the civilized world. How many people of the present day 
know the names of her offspring; that is, the counties made from terri- 
tory originally embraced within the boundaries of Lycoming, viz., Sul- 
livan, a part of Bradford, all of Tioga, Potter and McKean, a part of 
Warren, Forest and Venango, all of Clarion, a part of Armstrong, all of 
Jefferson, a part of Indiana, all of Elk, a part of Clearfield, all of Cam- 
eron, a part of Centre, all of Clinton and a part of Union? All are ex- 
pected to show their respect and gratitude to the parent county by par- 
ticipating in the great centennial family reunion to be held on the 2d, 
3d and 4th of July next. While the counties survive, the inhabitants 
pass away. It is doubtful if there is one person living to-day that was 
present at the birth of our county; neither will any who take part in the 
coming celebration live to participate in another. 

Saturday, April 13th, being the one hundredth birthday of our exist- 
ence as a county, we respectfully, but earnestly, request that the event 
be celebrated by the ringing of bells and the blowing of whistles 
throughout the entire county for the space of ten minutes, to begin at 12 
.o'clock M. of that day, and that all private schools or other assem- 
blages in session at that hour sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee," etc. 
Having confidence in the people, we present this thought, believing it 
will be carried out by those in authority to the fullest extent. Our peo- 
ple have always been patriotic and ever ready to make sacrifices for 
the public good. It is to the public-spirited citizen of to-day that the 
management make their appeal and urg^ upon them the necessity of 
joining hands with us in making the first centennial of Lycoming 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 85 

County a matter of history for the benefit of those who follow after 
In the great march of life. This subject presents a wide field for 
thought. Volumes have been written of our early history and much 
Temains fraught with interest to those whose duty it will be to cele- 
brate the second centennial. 

Mr. Parsons moved that the address be adopted by the 
Board of Directors and the secretary directed to fur- 
nish the press with copies for publication. Carried. 
Adjourned. 

BIDS FOR BUILDING RECEIVED. 

Board of Directors met April 6th, with the following 
members present: Messrs. Bodine, Coryell, Davis, 
Hart, Hill, Metzger, Mountz, Munson, Parsons, Quigley, 
Siess, Sloan, Sweeley, Wilson, Woodworth and Young. 

On motion of Mr. Parsons the bids submitted for the 
erection of the centennial building were opened and 
read as follows: 

G. W. Tally, plan of Milton Hudson $ 3,950 

C. W. Wheeland, plan of Milton Hudson 3,671 

Harman & Jones, plan of Milton Hudson 3,500 

E. Culver & Son, their own plan 3,547 

W. H. Waltz, his own plan 3,650 

D. P. Guise, plan of Wagner & Reitmeyer 4,200 

The chair then called for a report from solicitors. 

Colonel Wilson, Third Ward, reported $ 1,850 

H. S. Lucas, Second Ward, reported 200 

A. J. Quigley, Eighth Ward, reported 100 

August Koch, South Williamsport, reported 100 

Messrs. Woodworth, Sweeley, Davis, Hill and Bodine 
reported progress. 

As the outlook for raising a sufficient amount of 
money to erect a building was not encouraging, Mr. 
Parsons moved that a committee of three be appointed 
to interview the city school board relative to obtaining 
Washington school building for the use of the antiquar- 
ian committee during the centennial celebration. Car- 
ried, 
li 



86 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The chair appointed the following as such committee: 
Messrs. Parsons, Sloan and Siess. 

Mr. Hart moved that this matter be deferred for one 
week, and that each member of the Board of Directors 
make it his business to look around for a suitable per- 
son for chairman of the antiquarian committee, one 
who has the time and ability to make the enterprise 
a success, and to report at next meeting. Carried. 

On motion of Mr. Sweeley J. B. Duble was made 
chairman of the committee on medals. 

Mr. Parsons moved that the treasurer be authorized 
to collect twenty-five per cent, of the present subscrip- 
tions. Carried. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

SILVER LINING TO THE , CLOUD. 

Board of Directors met April 13th* — the day of the 
one hundredth anniversary of the county — with the fol- 
lowing members present: Messrs. Brown, Hart, Hill, 
Metzger, Munson, Parsons, Quigley, Siess, Sloan, Swee- 
ley, Wilson and Young. 

Colonel Wilson, on behalf of the committee on loca- 
tion of the antiquarian structure, submitted a contract 
signed by Mrs. Harriet Metzger for the erection of a 
building 200x67 feet for use by the Lycoming County 
Centennial Association, from June 15th, 1895, to March 

*The suggestion to ring bells and blow steam whistles was well re- 
ceived and generally carried out. Mayor Elliot issued a proclamation 
requesting the people of the city to celebrate the close of the century by 
the ringing of bells and the blowing of steam whistles for the space of 
ten minutes, beginning at twelve o'clock, noon. The din thus produced 
was almost startling, and several persons who were uninformed were 
greatly excited. 

The century could not have been closed in a more impressive manner. 
And there was something singularly appropriate as well as beautiful 
in the fact that on this anniversary day a lady should come forth and 
offer to erect a building for the antiquarian display, and therefore 
assure the success of the i exposition. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 87 

1st, 1896, for the su]m of f 1,500, payable as follows: 
|500 July 1st, 1895; #500 August 1st, 1895, and $500 
September 1st, 1895. 

Mr. Munson moved that the contract be accepted and 
signed by the president and secretary. Carried. 

Mr. Hart moved that a committee of three be ap- 
pointed to secure a chairman for the antiquarian com- 
mittee at a salary not to exceed f 100 per month. Car- 
ried. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Hart, Munson and Hill 
as such committee. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

COMMITTEE ON INVITATIONS. 

At the meeting of the Board of Directors on April 
20th, which was attended by Messrs. Hart, Hill, How- 
ard, Metzger, Munson, Parsons, Quigley, Siess and Wil- 
son, Mr. Munson offered the following: 

Resolved, That John J. Metzger, William Howard, Addison Candor, 
J. Artley Beeber, Fred Gleim, James N. Kline, Charles Flock, P. B. 
Shaw, E. B. Campbell, M. D., William Mendenhall, Joseph H. Mackey 
and N. M. Edwards, be appointed a general committee on invitations, 
with full power and authority to extend invitations to such persons, as- 
sociations and organizations as they deem proper, to attend the centen- 
nial observance of the erection of Lycoming County, with power to ap- 
point all sub-committees as they deem advisable. 

Adopted. 

ANTIQUARIAN CHAIRMAN SECURED. 

Mr. Hart, from the committee appointed to secure a 
chairman for the antiquarian committee in place of J. 
H. McMinn, declined, reported that his committee had 
concluded their work and recommended the appoint- 
ment of W. W. Champion, Esq, as chairman of said 
committee. 

On motion of Mr. Hill, W. W. Champion was unani- 
mously elected chairman of the antiquarian committee 
and Mr. Hart's committee discharged. 



88 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mr. Hart submitted the following letter of acceptance 
from W. W. Champion, Esq.: 

Messrs. Abe Hart, C. LaRue Munson and Theodore Hill, Special Com- 
mittee. 

Gentlemen: — After due consideration I have decided to accept your 
offer of |the 13th instant, Inviting me to accept the chairmanship of the 
committee on antiquarian display for the coming centennial observ- 
ances, and hereby tender a formal acceptance of the same on the con- 
ditions agreed upon in our conversation of the 16th instant. My under- 
standing of the matter is substantially as follows: The employment to 
date from the 15th instant, at the consideration of $100 per month, pay- 
able on the first and fifteenth of each month, (the first payment May 
15th.) The board to provide all necessary expenses, help and work- 
ing devices, postage and necessary traveling expenses, when away 
from 'the city on the business of the committee, and such further au- 
thority to do and act as may be necessary to expeditiously carry out the 
work. In consideration of which I agree to devote myself diligently to 
the work in hand and use the utmost of my endeavors to make the dis- 
play as successful as possible, using discretion and moderation in every 
part of the work, keeping it within the bounds laid down by the Board 
of Managers; and to report to the board fully from time to time, the 
progress of the work; being at all times subject to the suggestions of the 
Boardjof Managers and members of the committee. 

Believing that with your aid and encouragement and the co-opera- 
tion of my fellow-members of the antiquarian committee, that we can 
make an undoubted success of the antiquarian display, I remain 

Tours truly, 

W. W. CHAMPION. 

Mr. Hart offered a resolution that a committee of 
three members of the Board of Directors be appointed 
by the chair, who shall have full and ample powers to 
determine all questions submitted to them by the anti- 
quarian committee, or the chairman thereof. Adopted. 

The chair appointed Messrs. Hart, Munson and Par- 
sons as such advisory committee. 

THE WORK OUTLINED. 

Mr. Champion, who was present, gave his views as 
to how the antiquarian department should be arranged 
and conducted. He said: 

In accepting the kind offer of your committee, Messrs. 
Munson, Hart and Hill, to become chairman of the com- 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 89 

inittee on antiquarian display, I am not insensible of 
the trust and confidence you have reposed in me, and 
neither am I unmindful of the importance of the duties 
and the responsibilities thus assumed. I take it that 
it is the desire of your honorable board and the pa- 
triotic citizens whom you represent, that not only is it 
your desire that the antiquarian display be a success, 
but that it be a pronounced success, and an undoubted 
feature of the centennial. Although I approach the task 
with many misgivings as to my ability to do all that 
might, and perhaps ought, to be done in the premises, 
j et with your help and co-operation, the aid and assist- 
ance of the gentlemen of the antiquarian committee, 
the active encouragement of all patriotic citizens, and 
the support and endorsement of the press, I hope to be 
able to do in part, at least, that which you would have 
done and which might be more satisfactorily accom- 
plished if our time limit were greater. 

Unaided and alone the task is too Herculean for the 
shoulders of any one person, but if we but apply the mag- 
ic wand of co-operation — each and all doing his or her 
mite — we can transform the interior of the magnificent 
building which your fiat has called into being, as it 
were, in a day, into a "Palace Wonderful," filled with 
the treasures of antiquity, heirlooms and mementoes 
with which our people are so richly and so abundantly 
blessed, and which, may it not be said, they hold in 
trust for at least one view — each hundred years — 
for their neighbors. 

To make the display a befitting one will require pa- 
triotic and unselfish action on the part of the citizens. 
The people must have every confidence in our ability 
and zeal to not only receive and exhibit the many and 
priceless articles placed in our keeping for a short sea- 
son, but that we will be able and competent to guard 



90 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and preserve them, and with care and promptness re- 
turn every article — big or little, be its value great or 
small — to its proper owner. It need hardly be stated 
that this task has been satisfactorily performed at 
times past at divers places; and to successfully accom- 
plish it again, must our best and greatest efforts be di- 
rected. We can afford to leave nothing undone that 
■will add to the security and safety of every article en- 
trusted to our keeping. And to this I pledge the com- 
mittee and your honorable board, and through you, the 
public, my best and utmost efforts and vigilance. The 
details and progress of the work I will communicate to 
you and the public from time to time. 

A hasty survey of the local field from which we 
should have reasonable hopes to draw, discloses it to be 
rich in treasures of "ye olden times," of art, travel, etc., 
and with generous and commendable impulses on the 
part of the fortunate owners, and by constant and un- 
ceasing work and vigilance on the part of all concerned, 
we can provide a display that will be alike a credit and 
a joy to our people upon this one hundredth anniversary 
of a county's birth. 

In conclusion, I can only promise the diligent exer- 
•cise of such abilities as I may possess for the arduous 
labors of this responsible position, asking your aid and 
co-operation in making the antiquarian feature of this 
display a deserved and unqualified success. 

I deem it fitting at this time to briefly outline the 
work that, with your sanction, we may hope to accom- 
plish, in part at least; if it meets with your approval, 
active organization and work will be begun at once. 

I. The general scope of the work should be a dis- 
play of antiquities contrasted with things more mod- 
ern, showing as largely as possible, step by step, the 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 91 

advancement of the past hundred years, supplemented 
by various collections of artistic, historic and scien- 
tific value and importance. 

II. We may briefly summarize under the following 
heads of classes: 

1. Relics and heirlooms — historical and otherwise — 
relating to the early men and times of this valley prior 
to 1840. 

2. Rare and valuable articles of use and ornament 
from our own and foreign lands. 

3. Works of art, portraits, paintings, engravings, 
sketches, photographs, prints, etc. 

4. Ancient, rare, valuable and historical documents, 
papers, books, Bibles, bindings, etc. 

5. Articles showing the improvements in the domes- 
tic, social, educational, agricultural and religious life 
of the people. 

6. Rare old china, glass, porcelain, vases, dishes, 
bric-a-brac, etc. 

7. Ancient, curious and historical articles of wear- 
ing apparel prior to 1850, embracing linens, laces, etc. 

8. Antique furniture and furnishings, spinning 
wheels, clocks, watches, cutlery, etc. 

9. Indian relics, aboriginal pottery, cooking uten- 
sils, wearing apparel, etc. 

10. Collections of birds, animals, plants, wood, min- 
erals, fossils, etc. 

11. Collections of coins, medals, badges, stamps, 
posters, amateur photographs, etc. 

12. Family collections relating to the early pioneer 
families. 

13. Relics of the wars — 1754 to 1865 — hunting knives, 
old rifles, powder horns, etc. 



92 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

14. Displays from the younger brood of counties 
hatched by old Lycoming, and collections loaned by 
neighboring historical societies. 

15. G. A. R. Posts, N. G. P., civic, religious, social and 
scientific societies, etc., exhibits. 

16. Display of articles brought from the fatherlands 
— German, Irish, English, Scotch, Swedish, etc. 

17. A limited number of contrasted displays of an- 
cient and modern goods of like class of leading mer- 
chants and manufacturers. 

18. Contrasted display by the wheelmen. 

19. The public schools; photographs of historic and 
quaint school houses, old minute books, relics, etc. 

20. Ingenious mechanisms, mechanical toys and mis- 
cellaneous articles. 

Collections of articles will not be separated for 
purposes of classification, but will be exhibited as a 
whole, so far as possible. Communities, boroughs and 
townships will be given the privilege of keeping all 
articles and collections from their vicinity together, 
and exhibited and marked as from "The Place of Col- 
lection." 

The display will be under close guard both night and 
day, and all cases containing valuable articles will be 
securely sealed; and a most exact system of identifica- 
tion of articles received and returned will be enforced 
and a sufficiently large amount of insurance carried to 
protect the exhibits. 

If this general outline of the plan upon which it is 
proposed to begin work should meet with your ap- 
proval, the future details and sub-classes can be worked 
out as the work expands. The scheme proposes the ap- 
pointment of numerous sub-committees of ladies and 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 93 

others, and once the former take up the work in the 
spirit so characteristic of them — "once they set their 
hands to the plow" — we need have no fears for the 
result. 

Experience suggests that work of this kind can be 
best done by small sub-committees having ample pow- 
ers, working independently in amanner,and without too 
frequent meetings. The work is of such broad scope 
and the time so limited that it will be necessary for 
your chairman to work with the least possible amount 
of lost time, and to be clothed with ample authority to 
go ahead and do largely the things necessary and 
proper to be done in the progress of the work, reporting 
from time to time to your board. I would suggest the 
appointment of a committee of three from the Board of 
Managers, clothed with ample and final powers, to 
whom your chairman can appeal in cases of emergency 
or doubt. 

The chairman should have ample powers to secure 
necessary supplies, printed matter, transportation, 
help, etc., so that within reasonable bounds he can keep 
the business of the committee moving. Your chairman 
expects and desires to work in entire harmony with 
your honorable board and the members of the antiquar- 
ian committee, and will at all times invite suggestions 
and advice in his labors. He can only succeed by the 
united and hearty support of all. 

On motion of Mr. Munson a vote of thanks was ten- 
dered Chairman Champion for the pains taken by him 
to lay before the Board of Directors an outlined plan of 
the work contemplated in his department. 

On motion of C. LaKue Munson the following were 
appointed a press committee: 

Chairman, John F. Meginness; W. W. Meginness, 

12 



94 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Gazette and Bulletin ; James W. Sweely, Sun ; J. Barton 
Cheyney, Grit; F.W.Manson, Times; Elmer L. Schuyler, 
News; George Wolf, West Branch Beobachter; Carl 
Tew ell, Tribune; C. B. Seely, Jersey Shore Herald; T. 
B. Painter, Muncy Luminary; H. H. Rutter, Hughes- 
ville Mail; John W. Grier, Jersey Shore Vidette; 
Thomas E. Grady, Montgomery Mirror; H. J. Moore, 
Oval Ledger; J. S. Murphy, Montoursville Echo; Leon- 
ard Wright, Nippenose News; Charles Tate, South Wil- 
liamsport Star, and W. B. Thompson, Facts and Fig- 
ures. 

The duties of the press committee are to receive and 
welcome members of the press from other counties who 
may visit Williamsport during the centennial observ- 
ances, and to see that proper headquarters and con- 
veniences for writing are provided for them. 

The meeting then adjourned. 

The Board of Directors met April 27th, Vice-Presi- 
dent Quigley in the chair. The following members 
answered to their names: Messrs. Hart, Hill, Munson, 
Parsons, Quigley, Siess, Sloan and Wilson. 

Mr. Munson moved the adoption of the following: 

Resolved, That in addition to the powers already delegated to the 
press committee, it be authorized to take such measures as it may deem 
advisable to disseminate public information of the centennial of the 
county of Lycoming- and of its proposed celebration. And to that end 
$ , or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appro- 
priated for the necessary expenses of the committee. 

Mr. Hill offered and moved the adoption of the follow- 
ing: 

Resolved, That warrants for the payment of money by the treasurer 
shall be signed or approved by either the president or one of the vice- 
presidents of the Board of Directors, and countersigned by the Director 
General; which shall then become a proper voucher for the treasurer. 

PUBLIC MEETING CALLED. 

Mr. Howard moved the adoption of the following: 

Resolved, That a meeting be held at the court house in the city of 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 95 

Williamsport, on Saturday, May 11th, 1S95, at 2 o'clock P. M., of the fol- 
lowing centennial committees: The General Committee of Seventy, the 
Board of Directors, all general and special committees and all contribu- 
tors to the centennial fund, to discuss ways and means for the proper 
observance of an event fraught with so much of interest to all our peo- 
ple, and that the following are cordially invited to be present: All the 
county, borough and city officials, all old soldier organizations and 
civic societies, and all other good people, including the ladies, who de- 
sire to aid the enterprise or participate in the ceremonies of celebrating 
the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lycoming County; that the secre- 
tary be instructed to give notice of the meeting through the news- 
papers of the county. 

The secretary reported that the solicitors throughout 
the county were making but little progress in the 
way of raising funds. 

Mr. Champion, chairman of the antiquarian commit- 
tee, made a verbal report of the work already accom- 
plished by him, and that the public is coming forward 
nobly with articles of value and interest. Adjourned. 

THE LADIES TAKE HOLD. 

At the meeting of the directors on the 4th of May, Mr. 
Parsons, on taking the chair, made a statement showing 
the great success of the ladies' meeting at the house of 
Mrs. C. LaRue Munson, on last Thursday afternoon. 

Mr. Munson gave it as his opinion that the antiquarian 
display was already an assured success; he further said, 
that but two things more were needed — money and 
enthusiasm; the latter is coming to the front, leaving 
only the matter of finance to be provided for. At least 
$10,000 should be raised for immediate use. He urged 
the solicitors to renewed activity. 

Mr. Munson moved that the several solicitors be re- 
quested to report the amount of their collections each 
week to the Director General, and that he report to the 
Board of Directors. 

On motion of Mr. Munson, seconded by Colonel Wil- 
son, E. B. Westfall, P. P. Abercrombie and E. S. Harrar, 



96 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of the Pennsylvania Railroad; Joseph S. Ward and Wil- 
liam M. Irwin, of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- 
road; A. G. Palmer, of the Beech Creek, Clearfield and 
South- Western; W. H. Northrop, of the Fall Brook; E. 
R. Evenson, of the Williamsport and North Branch; J. 
W. Gebhart, of the Central Pennsylvania and Western, 
and Charles Burger, of the W T ilkesbarre and Western 
were appointed a committee on transportation for cen- 
tennial purposes. 

INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE. 

On motion of J. F. Davis the following industrial com- 
mittee was appointed for the several districts of Lycom- 
ing County, to assist in the industrial parade of July 
4th, 1895: 

Anthony — J. C. Newcomer, Henry Hower, David Wurster, J. J. 
Waltz, Amos Smith. 

Armstrong — Charles Young, George Parker, Henry P. Decker, Henry 
Zortman, Jacob Lawson. 

Bastress — Peter Steinbacher, Anthony Engle, Edward Danneker, 
Jerome Nau, H. J. Stopper. 

Brady — Joseph Piatt, Sherman M. Shaffer, John Kelly, Frank Miller, 
S. E. Shaffer. 

Brown — John Hilborn, Jefferson Gamble, C. T. Brown, Grant Gam- 
ble, W. E. Delany, M. D. 

Cascade — James Logue, J. W. McNamee, James Farley, Michael 
Kinsley, John Fields. 

Clinton, First Precinct; — William Griggs, Homer Runyan, James Ty- 
son, Robert Eger, George Kitchen. 

Clinton, second precinct — Herbert Thomas, Robert Sechler, Oscar 
Wagoner, Fred Metzger, Clinton Hess. 

Cogan House — Harry Smead — Charles Larrison, E. B. Ayers, Charles 
Haines, William Wise. 

Cummings— Mallie Bonnell, Charles Hewitt, Walter Harris, Edward 
Love, Benjamin Carson. 

DuBoistown Borough — William Whitehead, John Blair, Jesse Bower, 
John Leonard, E. F. Layberger. 

Eldred — J. R. Strieby, Daniel Thomas, Elmer Moyer, Walter Kimble, 
Peter Entz. 

Franklin— Thomas J. Ritter, J. H. Smith, D. C. Phillips, Charles Lowe, 
E. R. Houseknecht. 

Fairfield — George Springman, Wilson Person, John JConway, John 
Clees, George Bennett. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 97 

Gamble — Watson Wilson, Lowe Easton, George Albert, Edward 
Knapp, Melvin Smithgall. 

Hepburn — Charles Ulmer, Herman Miller, Prank Spotts, Henry F. 
Snyder, Peter Spotts. 

iHughesville, First Ward — T. B. Servison, P. M. Newman, William 
Kitchen, Fred Bumgard, Charles M. Swartz. 

Hughesville, Second Ward — William Fague, Ira Snowden, C. Steck 
Hill, Joseph Parker, Frank L. Laird. 

Jackson — Nate Brion, J. W. Bastian, Levi Miller, John Zeafla, 
Nathan Seachrist. 

Jersey Shore, First Ward— A. W. Pott, M. I. Sallada, W. B. Masters, 

A. L. English, J. E. Mohn. 

Jersey Shore, Second Ward — J. Frank Gray, Charles M. Irvin, B. E. 
Staples, Frank N. Brown, C. E. Williamson. 

Jersey Shore, Third Ward — J. G. Scarborough, Torrence Sallade, 
George M. Rearick, C. E. Chadwick, L. P. Vanwert. 

Jordan — Judson M. Lore, B. F. Gortner, Thomas W. Lore. 

Lewis — Clark Berger, Judd Neyhart, George Sweet, William Corn- 
wall, G. W. Keys. 

Limestone — H. J. Moore, George Engler, Joseph Bower, Jacob Miller, 
Jeff Pearson. 

Lycoming — John Hinkleman, Sylvester Quiggle, B. H. Hayes, Harry 
Stiber, John Fritz. 

Loyalsock, First Precinct — (Clarence Wheeland, George Seitzer, Peter 
Glosser, Harry Sweeley, Abraham Glosser. 

Loyalsock, second precinct — John Harding, Wilbur Kimble, John 
Fullmer, William Casselberry, Harry Moyer. 

MoHenry — D. E. Hostrander, Timothy Splann, George Ross, Orrin 
Campbell, Edward Horn. 

Mclntyre — Henry Brown, William Harrer, Charles Andrus, Edward 
Jones, William Brownlee. 

McNett— D. D. Davidson, Wilson Knecht, C. B. Earl, Webster Spen- 
cer, J. W. Tebo. 

Mifflin — H. C. Young, A. L. Losh, Harford Kabel, Langlan Wil- 
liamson, Irvin Losh. 

Mill Creek — Asher Nevil, George M. Lipp, J. W. King, G. W. Anstadt, 

B. A. Henry. 

Moreland— ^Charles Warn, David S. Trainor, John Fague, William F. 
Maddison, John Laurenson. 

Montoursville Borough — George Shaffer, Willard Woolever, L. J. 
Meyer, S. S. Jarrett. George Weaver. 

Montgomery Borough — E. W. Shollenberger, William Decker, Wil- 
liam Welshans, D. F. Love, G. P. Hafer. 

Muncy Borough— W. E. Mohr, L. Clyde Smith, Samuel B. Coulter, 
George H. Rodgers, T. B. Painter. 

Muncy Creek — George B. Rager, Harvey J. Dimm, William App, 
Henry McGowan, Charles Buck. 

Muncy — C. E. Mendenhall, William Haines, Aaron Edkin, Thomas 
Swartz, Henry E. Warner. 



98 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Nippenose — Prank Gebhart, Percy Meyers, Thomas Williamson, 
Harry Miller, William Bailey. 

Old Lycoming— John Good, George Bennett, Eli Shoulder, John 
Berry, Daniel Berry. 

Penn — Norman Fague, Charles Frontz, Wilson Poust, Lloyd Mc- 
Carty, Peter Houseknecht. 

Piatt — George Riddell, Miles Fulkrod, James Wilson, George Gray, 
Burt Scheriff. 

Pine — William Roquiski, John Wright, Reuben Hunt, Perry Harlan, 
Samuel Larrison. 

Picture Rocks Borough — Walter Burrows, J. D. Musgrove, William 
Little, George C. Fry, James Burrows. 

Plunkett's Creek — John Schaefer, Thomas Morrisy, Joseph Tomlin- 
son, C. B. Barbour, Bigler Day. 

Porter — William M. Hepburn, William Gheen, John A. Leach, Hawvey 
Betts, James Kline. 

Salladasburg Borough— H. D. Miller, L. P. Thomas, J. A. Minsker, 
Otto Bumgardner, Michael Deitling. 

South Williamsport, First Ward— William Reinhart, J. C. Collins, 
Charles Wise, James McGraw, Edmund G. Koch, Jr. 

South Williamsport, Second Ward— -J. H. Riale, H. D. Achenbach, 
J. G. Rathmell, Charles A. Shempp, Rissell J. Kutz. 

South Williamsport, Third Ward— James Tarman, John Luppert, 
Charles Jackson, George C. Luppert, Charles Fisher, Jr. 

Shrewsbury— H. W. Smith, John Laylon, William Taylor, Thomas 
Montague, Harry Meyer. 

Susquehanna— T. B. Coppes, William Simpson, Alexander Gibson, 
Sylvester Mutchler, Thomas Bubb. 

Upper Fairfield— Harvey E. Rentz, Harry Wheeland, D. O. Sweeley, 
George J. Hench, Henry Keagle. 

Washington— Stephen Hall, Clarence Bailey, Robert Pauling, R. B. 
Neyhart, Silas Bailey. 

Watson— William Hartranft, C L. Tomb, Pierce Lentz, Isaac Ulmer, 
William Miller. 

Wolf— T. A. Boak, George Runyan, Russell Michael, C. W. Persun, 
D. W Osier. 

Woodward— William Smith, Thomas Hughes, William Bennett, 
William T. Cowden, James Robinson. 

First Ward, Williamsport— Walter Koons, George F. Casselberry, 
S. A. Winner, Charles Keyte, John F. Pesto, Jr. 

Second Ward — George L. Stearns, William J. Tomlinson, John G. 
Coryell, Joseph C. King, Harry W. Lentz. 

Third Ward— James J. Gibson, James N. Kline, W. H. Hartman, A. 
F. Young, D. R. Foresman. 

Fourth Ward— S. Q. Mingle, Lewis Fisher, Harry B. Helser, Lewis 
J Frontz, William C. Creeden. 

Fifth Ward, first precinct— N. A. Hughes, August Laedlein, Ira A. 
Dayton, Robert E. Rowley, H. L. Beck. 

Fifth Ward, second precinct— Fred E. Backus, Fred H. Sweet, Clar- 
ence E. Else, Louis Welker, R. C. Maynard. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 99 

Sixth Ward— James S. Foresman, S. N. Williams, L. M. Otto, Carl 
Herdic, John Millspaugh. 

Seventh Ward— W. J. Funston, Adam Eisenberger, John Berry, J. 
K. Martin, Harry Miller, 

Eighth Ward— Rudolph Evert, Henry Flock, Charles Kahler, Wil- 
liam L. Smith, John Seifert. 

Ninth Ward— James Thomas, Frank F. Stryker, Sam Stabler, G. A. 
Stuempfle, George W. Evenden. 

Tenth Ward— Hugh MoDonald, F. Dittmar, James G. Mensch, John 
Foresman, James E. Gibbons. 

Eleventh Ward— W. H. Wuster, Henry Hannen, Frederick Hock- 
man, E. E. Seyfert, John Antrim. 

Twelfth Ward— H. N. Goldenberg, Clyde Duble, Peter McVaugh, 
Harry Villinger, Charles N. Bates. 

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS. 

Accompanying the notice of the appointment of each 
committeeman was a letter of instructions as follows: 

Williamsport, Pa., May 8th, 1895. 

Dear Sir: — The citizens of the county of Lycoming propose to cele- 
brate the one hundredth anniversary of its existence as a county, by a 
grand industrial parade and pyrotechnic display in the city of Wil- 
liamsport on Thursday, the 4th day of July, 1895. It is highly import- 
ant that every township, ward and borough within the present limits 
of the county be well represented 

The proposed celebration has for its object something more enduring 
(than amusement. It is our earnest desire to make available to the peo- 
ple a complete skeitch of the birth and history of the county, in con- 
venient form, from the early pioneer days to the present, in order that 
valued memories may be preserved and perpetuated. 

Believing that you will take an interest in making our first centen- 
nial a grand success, we have taken the liberty of appointing you as a 
member of the industrial committee. It is upon such men the Board of 
Directors rely to make our maiden effort surpass any kindred demon- 
stration ever held in the state of Pennsylvania. 

The undersigned having been appointed by the Board of Directors 
to organize and direct its affairs would respectfully suggest that the 
committeemen of each district organize in their own way and adopt 
whatever plan they believe would be new and novel in a parade, 
then recruit the number desired, appoint their own marshal and in- 
form me at their earliest convenience of the nature of their display and 
the time of their anticipated arrival at some stated point in the city, 
that we may make arrangements for their position in the procession. 

Respectfully, 

H. S. LUCAS, 
Director General. 



100 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mr. Champion, chairman of the committee on anti- 
quary, reported progress, and the appointment of sev- 
eral sub-committees. 

There being no further business before the meeting, 
the board adjourned to Saturday, May 11th. 

MONEY NEEDED. 

At a meeting of the Centennial Association held May 
18th Mr. Munson addressed the meeting at some length 
on the necessity of immediately raising funds to meet 
the expenses of properly celebrating the centennial an- 
niversary. He moved that a committee of five be ap- 
pointed to assist the collectors in raising the necessary 
funds, with power to employ a collector if such a course 
becomes necessary. 

The motion was carried and the chair named Messrs. 
Munson, Sloan, Siess, Laird and Flock, as such com- 
mittee. 

Chairman Duble, for the committee on medals, re- 
ported progress and recommended the purchase of 3,000 
medals, 2,500 of white material and 500 bronze. 

On motion he was authorized to use his own judgment 
as to the quality and quantity and procure medals. 

The solicitors were called upon for a report of the 
amount subscribed in the various wards and boroughs 
with the following result: 

First Ward, South Williamsport $100 00 

First Ward, Hughesville Borough 50 00 

Second Ward, City of Williamsport 445 00 

Third Ward, City of Williamsport 2,750 00 

Eighth Ward, City of Williamsport 216 00 

Total $3,561 00 

Mr. Munson offered and moved the adoption of the 
following resolution: 

Resolved, That the following namied gentlemen be, and they are 
ihereby, appointed members of the advisory committee of the Lycoming 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 



101 



County Centennial Association. They are requested to meet with the 
Board of Directors, take part in the discussions and advise with them 
about the proper management of the centennial celebration. 



Adopted. 



James J. Gibson, 
Henry Brown, 
W. E. Sprague, 
Jacob Sallade, 
H. L. Beck, 
Jacob S. Middaugh, 
Henry S. White, 
S. L. Youngman, 
N. A. Hughes, 
Nehemiah Shaw, 
J. H. Linck, 
Chas. I. James, 
S. N. Williams, 
Chas. R. Harris, 
W. M. Stephens, 
N. M. Edwards, 
Louis Schneider, 
R. W. Rowley, 
Chas. J. Reilly, 
Wm. P. Reilly, 
J. B. Duble, 
N. Burrows Bubb, 
Milton Huber, 
S. S. Brown, 
G. D. Tlnsman, 
J. G. Stewart, 
J. A. Beeber, 
Frederick Oberfell, 
W. H. Taylor, 
W. F. Thompson, 
Chas. T. Owen, 
C. A. Bowman, 
Charles Duffy, 
T. S. Clark, 
John B. Emery, 
Hiram Ulman, 
Addison Candor, 
S. G. Updegraff, 
Timothy Curtin, 
F. M. Gallagher, 
F. Deitmeier, 
H. W. Whitehead, 
13 



ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

City. A. S. Rhoads, 

A. Richter, M. D., 
" C. E. Sprout, 

F. P. Abercrombie, 
Joseph S. Ward, 
John F. Eder, 
Walter C. Gilmore, 
Samuel P. Gable, 
L. W. Cook, 
J. W. Sweely, 
O. S. Brown, 
F. E. Mansen, 
Dietrick Lamade, 
E. L. Schuyler, 
David Bly, 
T. J. Funston, 
James S. Lewars, 
David Stuempfle, 
M. S. Bates, 
Morris Lundy, 
A. W. Page, 
George Weisel, M. D. 
C. W. Scott, 
Solomon Silverman, 
Melick Foresman, 
J. J. Reardon, 
Chas. C. Beeber, 
George Rothrock, 
George Reubens tetn, 
Charles F. Jenks, 
Henry Muir, 
H. R. Laird, 
Charles Harman, 
Wm. D. Crocker, 
Max Li. Mitchell, 
John B. Meyer, 
H. A. Merriman, 
Pierce Koons, 
J. H. B. Reese, 
R. C. Reading, 
" J. E. Wilkinson, 

Isaac Barton, 



City. 



102 



LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



Hyraan A. Slate, 

A. D. Hermance, 
J. R. T. Ryan, 
George Evenden, 
J. E. Austrian, 
John H. Boyer, 
Thomas Millspaugh, 
Elias Deenier, 

C. C. Mussina, 
Henry Metzger, 
Chas. W. Flock, 
Wm. B. Updegraff, 

B. C. Bowman, 
John Lawshe, 
Edgar Munson, 
J. C. Green, 

J. E. Dayton, 
John G. Reading, 
E. B. Campbell, Jr., 
H. T. Ames, 
Francis W. Levan, 
John Wenner, 
Howard Zerbe, 
John Had/tner, 
J. D. Drorbaugh, 
Edward Lyon, M. D., 
L. L. Walton, 
Walter Shooter, 
William Eves, 
John Leinbach, 
Fletcher Coleman, 
J. K. Crawford, 
John Coleman, 
Jacob J. Moltz, 
James Thomas, 
Hiram H. Ulman, 
William Freeman, 
A. H. Heilman, 
Jas. S. Lawson, 
J. Wood Mussina, 
S. Q. Mingle, 
E. G. Koch, 
P. B. Shaw, 
Chas. R. Stearns, 
E. R. Payne, 
William Gibs>on, 
Luther M. Otto, 
Alexander Beede, 



City. A. S. Wagner, 

George T. Trainer, 
John H. Hunt, 
William Stadon, 
John B. Otto, 

" Chas. T. Huston, 

W. C. Riddell, 
Harry A. Jacobs, 
Rev. Julius HerO'ld, 
John F. Laedlein, 
Robert Neilson, 
Michael G. Miller, 
G B. M. Metzger, 
Hiram Winner, 
Charles R. Krimm, 
Fred H. Sweet, 
Frederick Mankey, 
Valentine Welker, 
Moses T. Waltz, 
Henry "Veil, 
A. L. ScbJoll, 
Daniel R. Stiltz, 
Simon Springman, 
George D. Snyder, 
James Russell, 
Geo. D. Nutt, M. D., 
Fred. G. Weed, 
Wm. T. Carson, 
J. B. Denworth, 
Rev. F. W. Rick, 
Orrin Randall, 
Wm. Goehrig, M. D., 
John Moser, 
Frank S. Clapp, 
H. S. Brownell, 
G. F. M. L. D. Herdic, 
Roscoe Huff, 
J. L. Meredith, 

" Joseph T. Long, 

'* H. J. dinger, 

J. Fred Coder, 

A. B. Neyhart, 
W. C. King, 
W. M. DuFour, 

B. H. Detwiler, 
J. G. Hammer, 
Riley W. Allen, 

" F. D. Schweiker, 



City. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 



103 



John K. Hays, City. 

B. S. Bentley, " 

H. S. Mosser, 

W. E. Ritter, 

Wm. J. Tomlinson, 

Abraham F. Metzger, " 

John L. Hall, 

James B. Krause, 

James M. Irvin, 

H. B. Melick, 

Edward Noble, 

Ezra Rathmell, 

Wm. M. Neuschafer, " 

John B. Coryell, 

Levi Bender, 

George W. Croll, 

J. F. Streiby, 

John Price, 

Harry Tallman, 

L. C. Ayres, 

J. N. Kline, 

S. T. McCormick, 

Lewis Sheffer, 

Ezra Canfield, " 

H. Cheyney M. D., 

Emerson Collins, 

J. T. Fredericks, " 

James S. Smyth, 

Thomas L. Pain ton, 

W. W. Hart, 

George Harder, 

John A. Gamble, 

Samuel Ulman, 

Abram Swartz, " 

F. H. Keller, 

John W. Grier, 

South Wil- 
Geo. Steinbaaher, liamsport. 
John Heilman, " 

John H. Riale, " 

Rev. R. G. Bannen, " 

George W. Mcintosh, 
E. S. Watson, 

D. B. Dykens, Muncy. 

Baker Bowman, 



W. H. Ellis, Muncy. 

Charles Mosley, " 

Thomas M. Opp, 

Malcolm McFadden, " 

John N. Bibby, 

Thomas Lloyd, 

James Coulter, 

George Stoltz, " 

T. B. Painter, " 

W. C. Frontz, Hughesville. 

Jeremiah Kelly, 

Peter Reeder, 

Daniel Steck, 

George Ball, " 

Thos. W. Kahler, 

G. W. Metzger, M. D., 

C. V. Vandine, 

J. G. Calvert, Jersey Shore. 

Capt. J. E. Potter, 

Edward Norton, Jr. 

John S. Tomb, 

J. G. Scarborough, 

M. T. Howell, 

A. P. Hull, Montgomery. 

Simon J. Bardo, 

H. M. Weller, 

A. B. Henderson, 

E. W. Shollenberger, 

L. C. Kinsey, 

Harry Federhoof, Montoursjville, 

S. Mendenhall, 

John Peters, 

Harry S. Weaver, 

William Lucas, 

John M. Hays, 

L. I. Meyer, " 

David Trump, '* 

G. H. Woolever, " 

Capt. P. D. Bricker, Auditor Gen- 
eral's Office. 

A. L. Crist, Adjutant General's 
Office. 

Captain Kelly, Adjutant General's 
Office. 

W. Hayes Grier, Columbia, Pa. 



104 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS. 

Mr. Siess moved that all of the advisory committee be 
notified by postal of the time and place of next meeting 
and requested to be present. Carried. 

Henry Metzger reported that the exposition building 
would be completed by June 10th, and suggested that it 
be opened by a grand ball for the benefit of the centen- 
nial fund. Mr. Siess moved that the matter be referred 
to a committee of three, with power to act. 

The chair appointed Capt, Evan Russell, Capt. 
William Sweeley and Charles Flock as such committee. 

The secretary read several letters relating to balloon 
ascensions and fire-works, and on motion of Mr. Siess he 
was authorized to write for drafts and specifications. 

W. W. Champion reported progress in the antiquar- 
ian department, and intimated that the prospects were 
good for a large and interesting display; and that the 
building would be ready for occupancy by the 15th of 
June. Adjourned. 

SPECIAL COLLECTOR ENGAGED. 

The Board of Directors and advisory committee met 
May 25th, A. J. Quigley in the chair. Mr. Munson re- 
ported the engagement of F. E. Gleim as special col- 
lector of funds for the association. Approved. 

Chairman Champion offered the following: 

Resolved, That the advisory committee and the chairman of the 
antiquarian committee be authorized to receive the necessary amount 
of insurance to properly protect the display; and also that they secure 
the necessary watchmen and help to properly arrange and conduct the 
display. 

Adopted. 

ORATORS SECURED. 

John F. Meginness, chairman of the historical com- 
mittee, reported that speakers had been secured for the 
different days as follows : 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 105 

Tuesday, July 2d, Capt. C. M. Clement, of Sunbury, 
Pa. 

Wednesday, July 3d, Hon. Charles Tubbs, Osceola, 
Tioga County, Pa. 

Thursday, July 4th, C. LaRue Munson, Esq., of Wil- 
liamsport, Pa. 

Judge Metzger, chairman of the general committee 
on invitations, reported that his committee had per- 
formed all the duties of their appointment. 

Mr. A. J. Quigley offered the following: 

Resolved, That an honorary committee, consisting of one hundred 
persons, composed exclusively of centenarians and descendants of the 
first settlers of the county as originally formed, of which Col. L. G. 
Huling shall be chairman, be appointed by the Board of Directors of the 
Lycoming County Centennial Association, to receive and entertain all 
corresponding committees from counties organized from territory orig- 
inally embraced within the boundaries of Lycoming; to occupy a con- 
spicuous place in the parades, and on the platform during all civic meet- 
ings. 

Adopted. 

Encouraging remarks were made by Mr. Shaffer, of 
Brady; Dr. Wood, of Muncy; Mr. Shollenberger, of 
Montgomery; Mr. Bodine, Hughesville; Mr. Young, of 
the Third Ward, Williamsport; F. B. Abercrombie, 
Fourth Ward; Mr. Champion, of the antiquarian com- 
mittee; Mr. Meginness, of the historical committee, and 
others. 

The secretary read a program of the proposed fire- 
works from Pain's Fire- Works Company, New York. 
After some discussion the matters of balloon ascen- 
sion and pyrotechnics were referred to the Director 
General. Adjourned. 

BRIGHTER SKIES. 

The Board of Directors and advisory committee met 
June 8th, Vice-President Quigley in the chair. 

Mr. William Howard, solicitor for the Sixth Ward, 



106 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

reported that he had collected and paid over to the 
treasurer the sum of $384. 

Mr. F. E. Gleim, general collector, reported progress 
and asked for the co-operation of the different ward 
collectors. Colonel Wilson moved that the several 
ward collectors be requested to accompany Collector 
Gleim through the respective wards of the city, assist 
him in making collections, and that one ward should be 
thoroughly canvassed before going into another. Mr. 
Hill expressed a willingness to go with Collector Gleim 
through the Fourth Ward. 

Mr. J. V. Brown moved that the names of Samuel 
Wilson and H. S. Lucas be added to the special finance 
committee, and that the entire management of the 
financial problem be left in the hands of said committee 
for solution; that they be instructed to confer with spe- 
cial collector F. E. Gleim relative to the best method of 
raising funds and, if deemed necessary, relieve or ap- 
point additional collectors. Carried. 

Mr. E. B. Westfall, chairman of the committee on 
transportation, reported that during the coming week 
the railroad companies would announce their special 
rates for the centennial, as well as the arrangement for 
running special trains. 

Mr. J. B. Duble, chairman of the committee on med- 
als, reported that the official medals, as adopted by the 
committee, would soon be ready for distribution; that 
they were of special and appropriate design. He stated 
that outside parties were selling medals on the street 
purporting to be centennial medals; that they were 
unauthorized and nothing like the genuine centennial 
medal. The committee were authorized to fix a price for 
the centennial medals and offer them for sale at such 
places as they may deem proper and for the best inter- 
ests of the Centennial Association. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 107 

Director General reported that arrangements had 
been completed for a Sunday School parade on Tuesday, 
the 2d of July, and that invitations had been sent out 
to the schools in all the boroughs of our county to par- 
ticipate. 

PRICES OF ADMISSION. 

On motion of Mr. Siess, amended by Mr. Howard, the 
price for single admission to the antiquarian display 
was fixed at 25 cents for adults, and 10 cents for chil- 
dren under twelve years. 

On motion of Mr. Quigley, amended by Mr. Duble, it 
was agreed to sell family tickets good for five admissions 
for the sum of one dollar. The chairman of the anti- 
quarian committee was instructed to procure tickets 
for admission in accordance with the above arrange- 
ment. 

The committee to whom was referred the matter of 
opening the centennial celebration with a grand ball in 
the antiquarian building reported through their chair- 
man, Captain Sweeley, against the project. The report 
was accepted as final by the Board of Directors. 

On motion of William Howard a special committee, 
consisting of Messrs. Howard, Wood, Duble, Coryell, 
Wilson and Metzger, was appointed to select a site for 
the holding of the fire-works display on the evening of 
July 4th, 1895. Adjourned. 

TIME OF OPENING ANNOUNCED. 

Board of Directors and advisory committee met June 
22d, Judge Metzger in the chair. 

Mr. Munson offered the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the Director General be instructed to publish in th^ 
newspapers of the city the names of all subscribers to the centennial 
fund, and the amount subscribed by each. 

Colonel Wilson, chairman of the committee to locate 



108 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

fire-works, reported ' that they had selected a site just 
west of Athletic Park, the place originally selected by 
the Director General. Report of the committee was 
adopted. 

Chairman Champion, of the antiquarian committee, 
reported that the work of preparation in the antiquar- 
ian hall was practically completed; that on Monday 
next the arrangement of exhibits would commence. It 
is expected that exhibitors will commence shipping 
their goods at once. It is especially desirable that 
persons anticipating making a disyday do so immedi- 
ately, while space can be allotted. There are people 
employed at the hall to receive and receipt for articles, 
and night watchmen to provide for the safety of ex- 
hibits. The hall will be opened on Monday evening, 
July 1st, 1895, under the auspices of the Ladies' Aux- 
iliary Society. 

On motion of Captain Sweeley the following com- 
mittee of centenarians and descendants of the first set- 
tlers was appointed, in pursuance of a resolution 
adopted May 25th: 

THE COMMITTEE. 

Col. Lewis G. Huling, John B. Hall, George W. 
Youngman,* Joseph Calvert, John L. Montgomery, A. 
K. Mabie, Philip H. Hoffman, Daniel Updegraff, John 
Bubb, Sr., McCall Piatt, John Bubb, Jr., Samuel M. 
Bubb, Antes Aughenbach, M. P. Hepburn, Hamilton 
B. Humes, Benjamin Bear,* M. D., Col. George W. 
Crane, Michael Crane, Samuel S. Buffington, David 
Dougherty, Samuel Phlegar, Wesley Miles, John J. 
Bear, Uriah Reed, M. D., John Staver, John R. Hughes, 
James Hughes, Maj. Andrew J. Fessler,* Edward Jami- 
son, Christian Shoulder, William Menges, Joseph Ben- 
nett, William J. Wood, John B. Coryell, James W. 

♦Since deceased. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. 109 

Clarke, Abraham Stadon, John K. Crawford, Capt. 
Joseph W. Grafhis, John Hoffman, John H. Allen, 
Jacob Weaver, John B. Crownover, Aaron G. Shiffler, 
Thomas Evenden, John M. Thompson, William Goehrig, 
M. D., Joseph Heilman, Charles Rentz, Frederick Heil- 
man, Albert D. Lundy, Joseph A. Shoemaker, Hon. 
Henry Johnson,* Theodore Hill, Henry Brown, August 
Richter, M. D., E. M. D. Levan, S. Lloyd Oliver, Alonzo 
P. Youngman, William Gibson,* Robert Pott, Moses Ul- 
man, Aaron Strasburger, Isadore Samson, Patrick 
McFadden, John Hartman, Jacob P. Finley, B. C. Bow- 
man, Abel DuBois, H. B. Melick, J. Walker Hays, Lewis 
McDowell, Michael Sechler, Franklin Porter, John Van- 
Vorce, Benjamin F. Reed, James Russell, J. Wood Mus- 
sina, Bodo Otto, John Floyd, John Good, Abraham 
Welshans, Adam Follmer, John Johnson, Robert R. 
Gibson John F. Carothers, Lindsay Mahaffey, Jesse 
Carpenter, A. J. Towner, Capt. John W. Berry, William 
Edler, David Stuempfle, John Steinhilper, P. C. Rundio, 
M. D., Charles T. Huston, Maj. W. B. Huling, Capt. Dan- 
iel B. Else, Benjamin Bennett, Seth T. Foresman, Sam- 
uel N. Williams, Fletcher Coleman, Henry Gable, De- 
Witt Riddle, Charles L. Eyer, Isaac Grier, Frank J. Bur- 
rows, James Martin, L. Homer Martin, William G. Lev 
egood, H. Ross Fulmer, Samuel Elliot, J. Newton Lowe, 
John R. Hyman, Levi Bender, T. J. Trapp, William Up- 
degraff, Maj. John J. Sanderson, Henry H. Antes, 
George Hill, M. D., James Rothrock, John F. Porter, J. 
S. Hayes, P. R. Hays, Christian Heim, Jr., Cephas Batch- 
eler,* Ezra Rathmell, George Gilmore, James S. Stew 
art.t 

♦Since deceased. 

t Youngest son of Samuel Stewart, first sheriff of Lycoming County. 
His father, the sheriff, was born December 4, 1770, and died April 8, 1844. 
James was born July 26, 1831, and is living on a part of the homestead 
farm in Nippenose Township, opposite the mouth of Larry's Creek. 
14 



110 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

On motion of Colonel Wilson the secretary was au- 
thorized to notify all committees through the press that 
the final meeting of the Centennial Association will be 
held on Saturday, the 29th of June, and request the so- 
licitors of the several districts to bring in their books 
and report the amount of funds subscribed. 

The Director General reported that the work of pre- 
paring floats and many other things for the industrial 
parade of July 4th had commenced in earnest, and that 
nearly every township, ward and borough in the county 
would be represented in the parade. 

J. B. Duble, chairman of the committee on medals, 
reported that the medals will be put on sale, commenc- 
ing on Monday morning, June 24th. "It is hoped the 
public will appreciate our efforts and wants by buying 
a genuine medal at once." The prices have been fixed 
at 15, 25, 35 and 50 cents. A list of places where medals 
can be purchased will be published in the city papers. 
Adjourned. 

LAST JUNE MEETING. 

The Board of Directors and the several committees 
met June 29th, Vice-President Quigley in the chair. 

H. K. Grubb, of the general committee, from the Elev- 
enth Ward, reported contributions as follows: 

From the Eleventh and Seventh Wards city $174 00 

M. P. Hepburn reported for Porter Township 10 00 

S. T. Foresman reported for Tenth Ward, city 25 00 

F. W. Fetter reported for Salladasburg 9 00 

J F. Corson reported from Shrewsbury Township 3 00 

J. F. Davis, Twelfth Ward, city 10 00 

Book of the Ninth Ward, city, returned, showing 5 00 

Total l$236 00 

On motion of Mr. Siess the treasurer was authorized 
to proceed with the collection of funds already sub- 
scribed. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS. Ill 

Chairman J. B. Duble, of the committee on medals, 
reported that medals had been received and put on sale 
at various points in the city with a good prospect of get- 
ting rid of the entire lot at a fair price. 

There being no further business the meeting ad- 
journed. 



THE CELEBRATION. 



How the Centennial Event Was Observed — Salutes, 
Parades, Orations and Poems. 



Everything having been arranged for the celebration 
of the centennial anniversary on the second, third and 
fourth days of July, the Director General issued the fol- 
lowing official program of exercises for the first day : 

A salute of nineteen guns* will be fired from Brandon Park 
the intersection of Market and Hepburn streets, at 6 o'clock A. M. The 
echo will be heard coming from Woodward's Hill. 

Sunday School parade at 10 A. M., as follows: Chief marshal and 
aids. Fisk military band. 

First division, consisting of all schools west of Market Street, 
headed by the Boys' Brigade, will form on West Third Street, right 
resting on Market Square. Repasz band. 

Second division, consisting of all schools east of Market Street, will 
form on East Third Street, right resting on Market Square. Distin 
band. 

Third division, consisting of all schools in South Williamsport and 
Newberry, together with all visiting schools, will form on South Market 
Street, right resting on Market Square. The P. O. S. of A. band, of 
Newberry, will lead the Newberry schools. 

The schools will form in the different divisions in the order in which 
they report to their respective marshals. The parade will move 
promptly at 10 o'clock, and all schools are expected to be in line before 
that time. 

The line of march will be out Market Street to Fourth, to William, to 
West Third, to Market Square, and countermarch to Pine, out Pine to 
City Hall, where, after exercises, the pupils will be dismissed. 

The following are announced as marshals: First division, Edward 
L Taylor; second division, Edward J. Fisher; third division, aids to 

*There were two committees in charge of salutes. The first consisted 
of W. H. Melhuish, C. B. Fisher and W. Q. Cable, and their station was 
Brandon Park. The second consisted of E. J. Fisher, George D. Snyder, 
W. C Hoffman, John Hunt and James L. Hill, and they were stationed 
on Woodward's Hill. Each committee fired a salute of nineteen guns, one 
for the Mother County of Lycoming, and one for each of her eighteen 
children. 



PARADE OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 113 

chief marshal, H. H. Russell, chief of staff— Watson F. Updegraff , John 
B. Embick, Esq., John B. Beck, Prof. W. W. Kelchner, Howard J. Gal- 
braith, Louis E. Whiteman. 

Marshals of divisions will appoint their own aids. By order of H. 
H. Russell, chief of staff; W. C. King, chief marshal. 

Civic exercises at the court house at 2 o'clock P. M., as follows: 
Music by Distin band. Prayer by Rev. Julius A. Herold. Singing by 
chorus. Introductory remarks by >H. T. Ames, president. Music by 
band. Historical address by Capt Charles M. Clement, of Sunbury, 
Pa. Music by chorus. Benediction by Rev. L. C. Rutter. 

Committee in charger H. T. Ames, Esq., C. LaRue Munson, Esq., 
Frank P. Cummings, Esq., A. H. Heilman and Charles A. Bowman. 

The balloon ascensions and parachute leaps will occur each after- 
noon at 4 o'clock from near the old fair grounds. Prof. Frank H. Kepner, 
of Sturgess, Michigan, is the aeronaut, and he will ascend not less than 
three thousand feet before cutting loose with his parachute and drop- 
ping to Mother Earth. 

Bicycle parade at 8:30 P.M. 

One of the features of the celebration will be the illuminated bicycle* 
parade to be held Tuesday efvening, July 2d, at 8:30 o'clock. It will be 
the biggest thing of its kind ever seen in this city, and all wheelmen are 
invited to turn out and swell the crowd. 

Antiquarian exhibition open from 7 A. M. until 10 P. M. 

H. S. LUCAS, 
Director General. 

THE DAY BEGINS. 

Tuesday, July 2d, opened auspiciously. The sun 
shone bright and clear. The salute of nineteen guns 
awoke the echoes of the hills and as the sound rever- 
berated through the valley it proclaimed the beginning 
of a celebration that was to mark the commencement of 
a new epoch in the history of the county. Not a cloud 
obscured the sky as the sun peeped over Bald Eagle 
Mountain and shone with undimmed splendor, as it ma- 
jestically commenced its journey through the heavens. 

The sounds of the morning guns had scarcely died 
away before the population of the city was astir and 
began preparations to bid a joyous welcome to all who 
should arrive to take part in the exercises, or witness 

*The committee on bicycle parade was composed as follows: J. 
Walton Bowman, George M. Robinson, Elmer E. Pepper, Lyman Pray, 
J. A. Shoemaker, Anson D. Knapp. 



114 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

the same as spectators. During the evening and night 
before, the incoming trains brought hundreds of strang- 
ers who intended to remain during the entire three days, 
and as the morning trains rolled in they added hun- 
dreds more to the swelling throng. Travel by vehicle 
from the country was also great. A steady current 
came from every point of the compass. The vales were 
almost depopulated and the dwellers on the mountain 
slopes quickly joined the enthusiastic multitude. 

Long before the time for the procession to move the 
streets in the central part of the city were filled with 
thousands of people, and notwithstanding the full com- 
plement of all the Sunday Schools was not represented, 
the number perhaps reached four thousand, and the 
spectacle of the "little men and women," appropriately 
dressed, as they trudged on the line of march, was as im- 
pressive as it was grand, beautiful and inspiring. 

THE PARADE 

First Division — Marshal, Edward L. Taylor; chief of 
staff, D. H. Foresman; aids, W. M. Danley, Charles Reed, 
Robert F. Trainor and Brook Anspach. The division, 
consisting of schools west of Market Street, headed by 
the boys' brigade of Sunday School cadets, with Capt. 
W. D. McCausland commanding, formed on West Third 
Street, right resting on Market Square. Following 
was the First Baptist Sunday School, 150 strong, with 
Rev. E. A. Woods, D. D., pastor. Frank P. Cummings, 
Esq., W. P. Bradley, Esq., Martin O'Hehir and P. D. Mc- 
Caffrey attended as conductors to the Church of Annun- 
ciation School, numbering in all 400. Then came Shiloli 
Baptist Sunday School with forty scholars, led by W. 
H. Johnson. T. M. B. Hicks, Esq., marshaled the little 
army of 300, the deputation from the Pine Street M. E. 
Sunday School. The Ebenezer Baptist School, with 



PARADE OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 115 

thirty, was under the direction of Davis Thompson. J. 
N. Kline and Rev. J. M. Anspach were the directors for 
St. Paul's Sunday School. Preceding this delegation of 
175 little people were Masters Shinier Wise, Daniel 
Kline and U. Megahan, Jr., who bore the Sunday School 
banner of crimson silk. St. Mark's Lutheran Sunday 
School of 150 followed, with Rev. W. F. Rick and Mrs. 
James Quigel and Miss Stoetzel as aids, ending the first 
division. 

Second Division — The second division, comprising the 
schools east of Market Street, formed on East Third 
Street, with right resting on Market Street. Edward 
J. Fisher was marshal and A. F. Stopper, John A. Wel- 
teroth, Joseph Braun, John Bender, Joseph Fenz, Lewis 
Eiswert, Joseph Par, Joseph Kenler and Charles Bareile 
aids. The right of line was given to the St. Bonifacius 
Parochial School, Washington Street. They numbered 
301 pupils, and were divided in three sections, arrayed 
in beautiful costumes. The little people were made the 
object of many complimentary remarks as they marched 
along the route of parade. The little girls of the first 
section wore white dresses and red sashes; second 
section, blue dresses and white sashes: third section, 
white dresses and blue sashes. All had sailor hats and 
carried Japanese parasols. The bovs wore white and 
black waistcoats with red, white and blue sashes. 

The next in line was the First Presbyterian Church, 
with 150 children and teachers. They followed in the 
rear of a handsome silk banner bearing on one side the 
words, "First Presbyterian Sunday School of Wil- 
liamsport," while on the reverse side was a large open 
Bible with the inscription, "Searching the Scriptures." 
beneath. C. A. Bowman, J. G. Reading, Esq., W. H. 
Sloan and David Todd were in direct charge of the 
school. 



116 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The Third Street M. E. Church, with William Nast, 
John A. Vollmer, Dr. Frank Moyer and Joseph Ulmer in 
charge, came next. There were 300 in line, within one 
of having as many as the parochial school. Christ 
Church followed with a handsome banner and seventy- 
five pupils, Rev. Graff, C. LaRue Munson and J. F. Starr 
being in charge of the delegation. 

With 150 pupils and teachers, the Second Presbyter- 
ian Church brought up the rear of the second division. 
Abram Christ and Sylvester Bixler led the school. 
Among those of the above school in the parade was Miss 
Nellie Christ, the ten-year-old daughter of Abram 
Christ, and the great-great granddaughter of Michael 
Ross. The little miss carried in her hand a copy of the 
"Confession" of Faith" of the Presbyterian Church, a 
book in a good state of preservation that was one of Mrs. 
Ross' cherished volumes. It now belongs to Mrs. J. W. 
Fullmer, of 457 Elmira Street, one of the living grand- 
children of Michael Ross. The Repasz band headed the 
second division. 

Third Division — The third division was formed on 
Market Street, with right resting on Third, and headed 
by the Distin band. N. M. Edwards, Esq., was chief 
marshal, and his aids were Harry Myers, R. C. Bannon, 
S. A. Seaman, H. Mellick Foresman and C. J. Reilly. 
The only school represented in the division was the 
Messiah's Lutheran School, of South Williamsport. 
There were 350 in the parade, the members of the infant 
class and the teachers, numbering about 100, occupying 
seats on a large float, drawn by a team of prancing 
horses elaborately decorated with the national colors. 

The line of march was followed as indicated in the 
program. The column was nearly a mile in length and 
was reviewed by more than ten thousand people. Re- 
turning the delegations were massed in front of the 



PARADE OF SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 117 

City Hall, where the Fisk band played appropriate music. 
The little ones enjoyed the parade greatly and did not 
seem to tire. Short exercises were held at the Soldiers' 
and Sailors' Monument. "My Country 'Tis of Thee" 
was rendered by a choir, Rev. Pennepacker made a 
brief prayer and a chorus sang "Columbia, the Gem of 
the Ocean," while Mr. Fisk rendered a cornet obligato. 
Rev. E. J. Gray, D. D., president of Dickinson Seminary, 
then spoke in an eloquent and forcible manner concern 
ing the celebration. He said there could be no more 
appropriate opening of the one hundredth anniversary 
of Lycoming County than the marshaling of theseyoung 
people and the impression thus made on their minds 
would not soon be forgotten. 

There was a dense throng around the base of the 
monument, on which the speaker stood, being so great 
as to make it impossible for more than one-third of the 
people to get near enough to hear and see what was 
taking place. The interest shown in the parade and ex- 
ercises was of such a character as to convince the most 
lukewarm that the celebration was a success, and that 
failure was now impossible. 

EXERCISES AT THE COURT HOUSE. 

It was almost 2:30 o'clock when the civic exercises 
opened at. the court house. On the platform were H. T. 
Ames, Esq., president of the meeting; Frank P. Cum- 
mings, Esq., Rev. Julius A. Herold, and C. LaRue Mun- 
son, Esq. 

The Distin band opened the exercises with an over- 
ture, entitled "Crown all Victory," and was followed in 
prayer by Rev. J. A. Herold, whose fervent appeal to 
the throne of grace was earnest and touching. Two 
verses of the popular and ever-stirring ode, "America," 

15 



118 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

was then sung by Rev. Charles F. Green and the audi- 
ence. 

President Ames followed with a short but interesting 
address, in which he referred to the progress that Ly- 
coming County had made during the past hundred 
years, and how her sons had ever stood ready and will- 
ing to battle for country and flag. In these things she 
has assisted in making Pennsylvania the Keystone arch 
of the nation — a matter of pride to her citizens. 

At the conclusion of Mr. Ames' address the band ren- 
dered a selection, when he introduced C. M. Clem- 
ent, Esq., of Sunbury, orator of the day, who spoke as 
follows: 

ADDRESS BY CHARL.ES M. CLEMENT, ESQ. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: — It would seem at first 
thought unreasonable to ask the Mother County to re- 
joice at this centennial birthday of her greater daugh- 
ter. There has seldom been in this state any rejoicing 
by mother counties at the creation of their daughters, 
but one of the twenty-seven daughters and granddaugh- 
ters of Old Northumberland entered upon its career of 
independent countyhood amid paeans of joy on the ma- 
ternal side, and that one was Luzerne, whose recent 
struggles over the proposed erection of another severed 
member from her territory reminds us forcibly of the un- 
broken history of these events. 

In fact political ambitions have been the potent fac- 
tors on each side of every county contest, and political 
jealousies have furnished the sauce piquante which has 
embittered every severance of the provincial domain. 
The love of office, the pride of territorial position, desire 
for power and authority, these are the mothers of coun- 
ties. But a calm review of the past clearly demon- 
strates that both the original Northumberland and all 



ADDRESS BY MR. CLEMENT. 119 

that is left of her, small and irregular though it be, 
can justly share in the rejoicings of this day, for the erec- 
tion of Lycoming County was a most important step in 
the development of the northern tier, that array of coun- 
ties whose sturdy sons have so nobly maintained the 
honor of their native Commonwealth at home and 
abroad, in peace and in war, thereby glorifying the his- 
tory of both your county and mine. 

So dear was this mountain fastness, with its wealth 
of wooded hills, its placid waters and its noble scenery 
to the Indian, that he jealously withheld its sale to the 
Penns. With that keen intuition that took in every 
strategic point, they located their council fire and their 
principal armed camp at the Forks* of the Susquehanna 
a little above the falls of "Shaumauking." 

Here they established a vice-regal government and 
installed the noble Shikellimy, the Christian Indian, 
who was the friend of the Proprietaries and the foe of 
intemperance and vice. 

From this, the largest Indian town south of Tioga 
Point, he governed wisely and well for a quarter of a 
century. To his home he invited the white man, and 
from 1728 to the present date the valley of the Susque- 
hanna has been tributary to the greatness of the colony 
and the Commonwealth. 

Into this wilderness pressed the most venturesome of 
the pioneers, trappers, traders, hunters and settlers; the 
men who chafed at the restraints of even colonial civili- 
zation and wanted to be beyond the pale of any govern- 
ment. With them came the Moravian Missionaries, 
always foremost in the work of propagating the church 
and zealous for both the temporal and spiritual welfare 
of alike the red and the white. 

♦Junction of the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna 
River. 



120 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Conrad Weiser was sent here by the Penns, on his 
way to a council at Onandago, to negotiate for this very 
territory, but the astute Shikellimy persuaded him that 
these hunting grounds of the Indian were not yet for 
sale. 

In 1744 the first English building in this valley was 
erected by Weiser for Shikellimy, and the next year 
Rev. Martin Mack became a resident missionary, the 
first of a noble army who have since carried the cross 
through every nook and vale of this part of our state. 
The difficulty of the task can be easily understood from 
the concise entry in Mack's diary that he arrived at "the 
very seat of the Prince of Darkness." 

After Braddock's defeat, fearing the French and In- 
dians allied with them, the friendly Indians removed 
their council to Wyoming, but urged upon the govern- 
ment that a fort be built at the Forks. 

After years of urging, so deaf were the assembly to 
the appeals and so blind to the wisdom of the Indian, 
Fort Augusta was built in 1756, the strongest of the 
colonial defenses and the only one of which there are 
any substantial remains. 

In 1768 the purchase was consummated of the terri- 
tory including all that remains of both Northumberland 
and Lycoming Counties and much more. The territory 
thus annexed to the counties of Berks, Bedford, Lancas- 
ter and Northampton was not viewed with any favor, 
therefore, when in 1772 the county of Northumberland 
was erected she came into existence without any strug- 
gle to retain her; they were glad to get rid of a daughter 
whose peace was marred by Indian marauders upon one 
hand and Connecticut settlers upon the other. 

She was considered by them an inaccessible wilder- 
ness, but not so did she seem to the astute Penns; her 
great area was a subject of constant thought and care 



ADDRESS BY MR. CLEMENT. 121 

in the governor's council, which represented the spirit 
of the Proprietaries far better than the assembly, which 
was then yearning for freedom from foreign control as 
represented rather by an alien landlord than a distant 
sovereign. 

With the glory of the Provincial government at its 
height, and apparently a long era of peace in prospect 
and all danger from French and Indians abated, this 
last but one, and the greatest of all the Provincial coun- 
tries, was formed and with true English pride was 
named after the northern border county of their home 
beyond the sea. Away upon the frontier of the settle- 
ments, it was to keep off the marauders as its prototype 
of the mother land had done. 

This much was understood, but that the struggle was 
to be between the mother land and her united daugh- 
ters, and that it was in this new county to be one of un- 
paralleled cruelty and rapacity, was unguessed. 

That it would greatly swell their personal wealth 
and the might and glory of their province by the Dela- 
ware was well seen, since they selected the land at the 
Forks, which commanded the whole central and north- 
ern part of the colony, as their own Manor of Pomfret, 
being land reserved from the Provincial government as 
the personal estate of the Penns, part of their royal 
tenth in all the land they had bought. 

To perpetuate the personal ascendency in this new 
county, they caused the donation lands to be laid out 
and much of the older part of the county was then peo- 
pled by the officers of the colonial wars, who accepted 
the acres offered as the reward for their services under 
the royal flag. 

Naturally, therefore, this new county at once took a 
prominent place in the affairs of the day. The Proprie- 
taries sent here their best soldiers, their shrewdest law- 



122 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

yers and surveyors, to start the machinery of this county, 
to control its affairs and further their own interests. 

Between the official families settled around Sunbury 
and its ancient fort, and the military settlers located 
along the West Branch there existed a natural com- 
panionship; they were the representatives of the pride 
and aristocracy of the day and were of the governing 
class in every provincial assembly. 

The officials at Fort Augusta gladly aided these peo- 
ple in the establishment of outposts at Muncy, Free- 
land and elsewhere, even yielding up the armament of 
the fort for this purpose, so certain were they that it 
would tend to enhance the value of their own posses- 
sions at the Forks, and also the newer purchases up the 
river, in which they were largely interested. 

The fertile valleys and wooded hills of the West 
Branch attracted the land speculators of the day, who 
purchased large blocks to hold for future profit, but the 
prominence in this work of development must be given 
to those actually living in the county. The Peuns dep 
uted the talented Maclay, who prided himself upon his 
simplicity, to lay out their town of Sunbury; he vied 
with his rival, the commandant at Fort Augusta, Col. 
Samuel Hunter, in efforts to develop the Otzinachson 
vale. Each was seeking to add to possessions he should 
leave to his descendants and to his influence with the 
government, and realized that the power lodged at the 
county seat was his best auxiliary in this campaign of 
territorial aggrandizement and political supremacy. 

It was these men and their associates, rather than 
the land speculators of Philadelphia, who perceived 
what a tributary to the greatness of the town at the 
Forks this wonderful West Branch Valley would be, 
and they fostered the idea of dependence by every ex- 



ADDRESS BY MR. CLEMENT. 123 

pedient that suggested itself, fully purposing to bend 
all to their own advantages. 

The outbreak of the Revolution found these men 
squarely planted on the side of the colonies and actively 
promoting the organization of troops, of which the most 
renowned regiment was the Twelfth of the Continental 
Line, whose descendants can be found in every part of 
the Commonwealth. These patriot organizers called 
the hardy mountaineer and the patient farmer to stand 
side by side in fighting for a common country, and they 
so denuded the land of settlers, in their zeal to help 
Washington, that it became an easy prey to the maraud- 
ers from the north. Ere long they were calling for troops 
to defend this very valley from the British and their 
fiendish allies. Owing to the hardly pressed condition 
of the Continental army these calls went unheeded for 
more than two years. In the meantime the patriot citi- 
zens of the county, than whom none were more zealous 
than the representatives of your own territory, were 
actively organizing the militia, and several battalions 
of these troops were formed ; the capture of New York 
and the repulses on every side brought on more calls 
for troops, and even these home guards were pressed 
into service and marched away to New Jersey. The 
helpless condition of Central Pennsylvania was soon 
perceived by the wily savage, the word was carried to the 
mixed camp in New York and the attack was made 
on Wyoming. Colonel Hunter at once sent messengers 
to the settlers to gather at Fort Augusta; then followed 
what has been since known as the "Big Runaway." The 
Indians were on every little party, killed and scalped 
anyone found a hundred yards from succor. The people 
became desperate and fled. The principal politicians 
of the county did not stop until safe in Lancaster; then 
they sat down and abused Colonel Hunter; none of the 



124 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

officers or men who remained on the scene of action ever 
questioned his course, and it is now apparent that but 
for his warnings the valley of the West Branch would 
have seen a repetition of the Wyoming massacre. Wil- 
liam Maclay wrote in a letter of July 12th, 1778: "I never 
saw such scenes of distress, the river and roads covered 
with men, women and children flying for their lives. In 
short, Northumberland County is broken up. Colonel 
Hunter alone remains, using his utmost endeavors to 
rally the inhabitants and make a stand against the 
enemy. For God's sake, for the sake of the country let 
Colonel Hunter be reinforced at Sunbury; send but a 
single company if you can do no more." 

Hunter himself, in his report, of that date, said: "Sun- 
bury is the frontier where a few venturesome inhabi- 
tants and fugitives are determined to stand, tho' doubt- 
ful whether to-morrow's sun will rise on them freemen, 
captives or in eternity." 

The council ordered Colonel Hartley, with about a 
thousand men, to Sunbury. Colonel J. P. DeHaas 
started as a volunteer and with his troops was soon on 
the scene. Colonel Brodhead, who was on the road to 
Fort Pitt, was diverted and sent to Sunbury, and thus 
the onslaught was averted. 

Those venturesome spirits who returned to their 
homes were but targets for the Indians who resumed 
their marauding the following spring, and on the 
strength of the report of Robert Kovenhoven all the 
women and children along the West Branch were sent 
to Fort Augusta; nor was this done any too soon, as 
Fort Freeland was attacked and captured and the in- 
mates carried captive to Canada. The country was 
ravaged in every direction until in a few weeks there 
was not an inhabitant north of Northumberland town. 

When peace at last stilled the savage warriors, the 



ADDRESS BY MR. CLEMENT. 125 

settlers again radiated from Sunbury and the same 
skillful hands sought to perpetuate the influences of the 
county town, and by reason of their political skill were 
able to maintain in the assembly the prestige so hardly 
won during all these years of warfare. 

But the hardy race that were peopling the waters of 
theWest Branch were too independent to submit to dom- 
ination; the free air of their mountain homes bade them 
throw off the yoke that bound them to the county town 
and its caste of officialism and its circleof Revolutionary 
officers. They desired to rule over this vast domain 
of Northern Pennsylvania without let or hindrance from 
the "back settlements," among which they numbered 
Sunbury and Northumberland town, which latter place 
was being repopulated. 

Forgetful of its protecting influence during the seven 
years of warfare, the miles to be traversed, the streams 
to be forded, the distance from their homes to the seat 
of justice became the potent themes in their renewed 
argument for separation. The main-spring of their con- 
duct was the desire for self-government and for a voic-p 
in the councils of the infant Commonwealth. 

So long as the older hands and these most, skillful men 
of affairs remained around Sunbury, their efforts were 
fruitless, although persisted in for years, but with 
Ma clay in the Senate beginning his contests with 
Adams and against Federalism, and Colonel Hunter 
gathered to his fathers beneath the shadows of his 
crumbling fort, the power of the old regime was badly 
shattered. The rapid influx of settlers after the Revo- 
lution gave increased voting power to the outlying dis- 
tricts and at last they captured the State Senator in 
William Hepburn, and, behold Lycoming was born! 

Your own historian has told you how these struggles 
to be separated from us were renewed and continued 

16 



126 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

over the location of the new county town, and this con- 
test emphasizes the proposition that political ambitions 
and political jealousy were the advocates and opponents 
of division. With these contests in the new county I 
have nothing to do. I have thus briefly outlined the 
history of the Mother County, so far as it seems to be of 
common interest, and in the hope that you may be again 
reminded of the great obligations due to the Old County 
of Northumberland from the county of Lycoming, and I 
trust that this can now be done without rekindling any 
of the former misunderstandings. 

I came here to-day to tell you that the jealousies and 
contentions of the past are buried in a common grave. 
The broader view we take of all American institutions 
teaches us that county lines are not to-day divisional 
lines in any sense, but exist solely for convenience of 
administration and the execution of the process of the 
law. Sectionalism lias ceased along the waters of the 
Susquehanna, and we look with pride upon the vast area 
we filled on the early maps. We feel a common interest 
in your prosperity and advancement. We look beyond 
your present confines to the territory lopped away and 
say, all these are ours, the uncut jewels of our provin- 
cial glory, which became resplendent only when severed 
and polished in a lapidary of political strife. We all 
realize in our quiet way, and being German in descent 
on some side, we are all quiet and undemonstrative, that 
the greatest glory of Old Northumberland are those 
northern and western daughters who hold within their 
boundaries the West Branch, the pride of old Lycom- 
ing, the pathway through which she was settled and by 
whose waters the forests that have made her rich have 
floated to market. We forgive her for her floods and 
freshets as we recall how she has freighted the pines 
and oaks to market and returned the gold to her hardy 



ADDRESS BY MR. CLEMENT. 127 

mountaineers, making this whole valley a prosperous 
and successful mart of trade. From the date when 
William Penn beheld the waters of the Susquehanna 
at Swatara to the present, it has been the main artery 
for the development of Central and Northern Pennsyl- 
vania. Wisely the Proprietaries located their princi- 
pal fort at the Forks, where the commerce on the stream 
could be protected. The stage route, the canal and the 
railroad alike in turn sought out the confluence of the 
branches as the place to gather in the wealth that would 
flow out from this West Branch Valley. We share in 
the glory and triumphs of this day, because we know 
that in these modern days the bars of steel and the 
wires that join our towns have obliterated distance and 
bring all the children of Old Northumberland into closer 
union and most friendly relations; that county lines are 
obliterated and a closer bond of sympathy unites us to- 
day than could possibly have existed, had the prayers 
for division been denied and you continued unwilling- 
children of an ungracious mother. W^e glory that you 
have outstripped us in the race for material prosperity. 
The hardiest and bravest spirits always pressed to the 
front, and here in the northern border of the state they 
found their permanent home and have stirred the very 
soil on which they lived to renewed activities, and their 
descendants continue conquerors of the forces of nature 
among these mountains and streams. What would 
have been a burden to us has at the hands of your fath- 
ers and yourselves become one of the greatest glories of 
the Commonwealth. 

If we look into the councils of the state, we find that 
your sons and the sons of your daughter counties fill the 
most responsible positions in the state government, 
maintaining the spirit and dignity of the Common- 
wealth and adding luster to the long list of faithful 



128 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

officials, and we rejoice that they are sons of Old 
Northumberland. If we gaze abroad at the smoking 
chimneys of your mills and factories we see that master 
minds are bending the forces of nature to work out the 
human will, and that the wealth and comfort of the 
state are alike promoted by your endeavors, and our 
hearts swell with pride that leads us to demand goods 
marked "Lycoming-' in every market, feeling that that 
name is a guarantee of honest work and good material. 
We appreciate the unprecedented development of this 
vast territory and in all sincerity declare that but for 
the promotion secured through this division of terri- 
tory this growth would have been stunted, and that the 
division of Old Northumberland was the most potent 
agent in the accomplishment of this material triumph 
which has dimmed the political lustre of earlier tri- 
umphs and entirely effaced the bitterness of the past. 

In the past quarter of a century this Commonwealth 
has advanced with mighty strides, and in no part has 
the development been so marked as within that part of 
Old Northumberland which became the Old Lycoming. 
We come here, then, with your children to receive the 
homage due a parent, to ask from you a continued, 
kindly thought for that old Northumberland which, 
shorn of her miles upon miles of territory, is justly 
proud of her daughters, treasures up her record weighty 
with the past, and sitting, now as then, at the Forks of 
the river, presides calmly over its waters, gathers up and 
disburses the stores of grain and lumber and oil which 
come by water, by rail and by pipe line, all within her 
shortened boundaries. 

We proudly rejoice that vast, rich and grand as you 
are, you cannot pass by the Mother County, but that all 
your contributions to the markets of the world must 
now, as they did a hundred years ago, be carried by 



PARADE AND EXERCISES. 129 

Fort Augusta, while all you get in return must take the 
same route. 

As children of a venerable parent who is retiring and 
modest, as all nineteenth century parents are in the 
presence of their daughters, we solicit your loving con- 
sideration and we ask you to perpetuate in your rejoic- 
ing over this birthday a spirit of loyal allegiance to the 
history, the traditions and the glory of that triumph of 
provincial political architecture, the County of Nor- 
thumberland. 

When the oration was concluded the choir sang a 
selection, after which the benediction was pronounced 
by Rev. L. C. Rutter. 

EXCHANGE OF GREETINGS. 

During the afternoon an exchange of greetings took 
place between Hon. Charles W. Stone, president of 
Warren Centennial Association — which was also hold- 
ing a celebration — and Hon. H. C. Parsons, vice-presi- 
dent of Lycoming County Centennial Association, in 
the following telegrams: 

Mr. President of the Lycoming Centennial Association, Williamsport, 
Pa.: 

The borough of Warren, commencing to-day her centennial celebra- 
tion, sends filial greetings to the Mother County of Lycoming, and 
hopes full success will crown her celebration, and that abundant pros- 
perity may be her portion during the coming century. 

CHARLES W. STONE, 
President of Warren Centennial Association. 

In reply the following was sent: 

Hon. Charles W. Stone, Warren, Pa.: 

The mother of Warren reciprocates the kindly sentiments of her 
child and wishes her continued prosperity and happiness. 

H. C. PARSONS, 
Vice-President Lycoming Centennial Association. 

BALLOON ASCENSION. 

Owing to an unexpected delay the aeronaut did not 
make his balloon ascension and parachute leap on 



130 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

schedule time. Instead of getting started at 4 o'clock, 
he did not make the venture until nearly 5:30. This 
resulted in considerable complaint on the part of the 
people who had stood for an hour or more before the 
specified time awaiting the ascension. Many becoming- 
weary of waiting went home without witnessing the 
event. When the signal to "cut loose" was finally 
given the immense air ship quickly leaped skyward, 
and in a very short space of time had conveyed its cargo 
of human freight a distance of 2,000 feet above the 
earth, veering in a southerly direction. At the above 
point the aeronaut pulled the cord which released him 
from his balloon, causing him and his parachute to 
shoot downward with the speed of the wind toward 
terra firnia. He was in the air one minute and forty- 
five seconds, and the leap was successfully accom- 
plished. 

BICYCLE PARADE. 

The illuminated bicycle parade in the evening, 
through the principal thoroughfares of the city, was a 
complete success, and thousands of people lined the 
streets to witness it. The parade started at 8:30 o'clock 
with the Newberry F. O. S. of A. band in the lead. The 
Montgomery Wheel Club, with twenty men, lead the 
'cyclists, followed by the Keystone and Williamsport 
Wheel clubs. A large number of unattached riders 
brought up the rear. The wheels were handsomely 
decorated with Japanese lanterns and bunting. The 
Keystone Wheel Club had a large float announcing the 
circuit meet, to take place July 23. Ned Lyons and 
"Able," dressed as Indians, attracted attention. The 
visiting wheelmen were tendered a reception after the 
parade of the Williamsport Wheel Olub. 



PARADE AND EXERCISES. 131 

SECOND DAY. 

The official program of the exercises for Wednesday, 
July 3d, as issued by the Director General, was as 
follows : 

A salute of nineteen guns will be fired from Brandon Park, near the 
intersection of Market and Hepburn Streets, at 6 o'clock A. M. 

Military and civic parade at 11 o'clock A. M. — Mounted platoon of 
police, Chief Marshal Col. James B. Coryell and staff, Repasz band. 

First Division — Marshal W. C. King and aids; Twelfth Regiment 
National Guard of Pennsylvania; Encampments U. V. L. ; Posts of G. 

A. R. ; Sons of Veterans Camps; Boys' Brigade, etc. 

Second Division — Marshal C. E. Sprout, Esq., and aids; P. O. S. of A. 
band; Encampments of P. O. S. of A.; American Mechanics; Knights of 
Pythias; Knights of the Golden Eagle; Odd Fellows; A. O. of Knights of 
Mystic Chain, etc. 

Third Division — Marshal Frank P. Cummings, Esq., and aids; Fisk 
cnrnpt band; Divisions of A. O. H. ; F. M. T. A. society; F. M. Cadets; 
St. Patrick's society; St. Boniface society. 

Fourth Division — Marshal W. M. DuFour; Distin band; Williamsport 
Turn Verein; Seven Wise Men; unassigned societies, etc. 

The parade will form at 11 o'clock A. M. sharp, and will move at 11:15. 
The first division will form on Market Street, north of Third, facing 
east, right resting on Market Square. 

The second division will form on Market Street, south of Market 
Square, facing west, right resting on Market Square. 

The third division will form on south side of West Third Street, facing 
north, right resting on the south side of Market Street. 

The fourth division will form on the south side of West Third Street, 
facing north, right resting on Court Street. 

Line of march will be as follows: Down Third to Mulberry, Mulberry 
to West Fourth Street, West Fourth Street to Maynard, Maynard to 
West Third, West Third to Walnut, Walnut to West Fourth, West 
Fourth to Pine, Pine to Centennial building, where parade will dismiss. 
Each organization in line is requested to appoint a mounted aid to the 
marshal in charge of the division. JAMES B. CORYELL, 

FREDERICK A. SNYDER, Chief Marshal. 

Chief of Staff. 

Exercises to be held at the court house at 2 P. M. Music by the Fisk 
band. Prayer by Rerv. Arthur E. Woods. Introductory remarks by J. 

B. Duble, chairman of committee. Patriotic song by singing section 
Williamsport Turn Verein. Recitation by Miss Augusta Helen Gilmore, 
poem, entitled "Lycoming." Address by H. C. Parsons, Esq. Historical 
address by Hon. Charles Tubbs, of Tioga County. Song by Turn Verein 
choir. Benediction by Rev. Elliott C. Armstrong. 

Committee in charge: J. B. Duble, D. B. Dykins, H. L. Beck, John 
E. Potter, William M. Jones, William E. Sprague and David Bly. 

Balloon ascension and parachute leap will take place at 4 o'clock from 



132 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

the old fair grounds. Prof. Frank H. Kepner, of Sturgess, Michigan, is 
the aeronaut, and he will ascend not less than three thousand feet be- 
fore cutting loose with his parachute. 

Antiquarian exhibition open from 7 o'clock A. M. until 10 P. M. 

H. S. LUCAS, 
Director General. 
THE PARADE. 

The morning of the second day dawned clear and 
beautiful, and the committee on salute made the welkin 
ring as they fired the nineteen guns assigned them. 
The people were early astir and the incoming trains 
brought hundreds of visitors, while all roads leading 
to the city were lined with vehicles. 

The parade, while not so large as was expected, ow- 
ing to friction between some of the societies, was very 
respectable, and made a handsome showing. The 
number of spectators was greater, perhaps, than on 
the opening day, the streets being lined with people 
throughout the entire line of march. Aside from the 
military, the only societies that took part were the Jr. 
O. IT. M., Ancient Order of Hibernians, three divi- 
sions; the Father Matthew Total Abstinence Society, St. 
Patrick's Benevolent Society, St. Boniface, Young 
Men's Sodality Society and Father Matthew Cadets. 

The parade formed on Market Square at 11:20, pre- 
ceded by Capt. Evan Russell and four mounted 
patrolmen; Colonel Coryell and staff, consisting of Ma- 
jor Focht, Adjutant Snyder, chief of staff; Inspector of 
Rifle Practice DuFour, Lieutenant Hull and Military 
Cadet Collins. 

Repasz band, Major King and Adjutant Russell; 
Twelfth Regiment drum corps; companies B, D and G 
of the National Guard; Baptist Cadets, commanded by 
Captain McCausland; detachment of artillery, two 
pieces. 

A carriage in line bore four veterans of the Mexican 



PARADE AND EXERCISES. 133 

war, as follows: John B. Shadle, Watsontown, Pa., 
aged 73; Samuel McOollum, High town, White Deer 
Valley, aged 72; Peter Scott, Allenwood, aged 72; John 
F. Meginness, Williamsport, aged 68. The veterans 
looked hale and hearty and attracted much attention. 

The Jr. O. U. A. M. band of Muncy, followed by the 
Williamsport and Muncy councils, completed the first 
division. 

Second Division — This division fell into line on West 
Third Street and was assigned a position in the rear of 
the parade. The officers were: Marshal, Frank P. 
Cummings, Esq. Aids, W. P. Bradley, Esq., Eobert 
J. White, M. J. Costello, Thomas J. Keidy, Jr., Charles 
J. Reilly, Esq., M. J. Dunbar, Louis E. Whiteman, P. 
M. Malloy, Charles Krimm, Fred Beiter, James Burrows, 
John Stopper and Jerry McEnery, and the following 
Irish and German Catholic societies composed the di- 
vision, being headed by the Fisk military band: Sec- 
tions one, two and three A. O. H., mustering about 400 
men; two delegations of the German Sodality Society, 
with 100 in line; Distin band; St. Boniface Benevolent 
Society, 175 strong; St. Patrick's Society, 75 men; the 
Father Matthew Total Abstinence Society, 100 men, 
and Father Matthew Temperance Cadets, numbering 
51 boys. The division made a very fine appearance and 
called forth much favorable comment from the specta- 
tors. 

AT THE COURT HOUSE. 

The program of exercises was successfully carried 
out at the court house. The auditorium was well filled, 
and the attendance of ladies was large. The exer- 
cises were opened with an overture, "American Repub- 
lic," by the Fisk military band, followed with prayer 
by Rev. E. A. Woods, D. D. 

17 



134 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

To Mrs. Katharine E. Purvis, of Williamsport, had 
been assigned the duty of writing a centennial sonnet, 
which was recited by Miss Augusta Helen Gilmore. 
The sonnet, a beautiful and appropriate conception, is 
as follows: 

LYCOMING. 

Beneath the arching summer skies 
Whose mellow, golden glow 
Illumed her lowly cabin homes 
A hundred years ago, 

Lycoming stands in queenly state 
And fondly, sweetly calls 
Her absent children back again 
To their ancestral halls. 

Her lovely features, wreathed in smiles, 
Bear not a trace of care, 
Nor have her early hardships left 
The faintest impress there. 

She looks upon the garnered wealth 
Of many happy years, 
The countless sheaves of ripened grain 
Which once she sowed in tears, 

And points with pride to heirlooms rare 
To relics quaint and old 
Of ruder times and simpler tastes 
Before this age of gold. 

The children hear their mother's call. 
From east and west and north 
They come, in loving haste, to pay 
Their tribute to her worth. 

And while the hills and valleys ring 
With songs of praise, they rear 
An altar to commemorate 
Her first centennial year. 

Oh, happy day with memories 

Of richest blessing fraught, 

And filled with tokens of the change 

A century has wrought. 

With visions grand and beautiful 
Of cycles yet to be, 



PARADE AND EXERCISES. 135 

When progress shall go hand in hand 
With world wide liberty. 

Thrice welcome all who corne to share 
The mother's sacred joy, 
And claim her children's heritage 
Of peace without alloy. 

And whether they who bought that peace 
Sleep on our holy hill 
Or rest in distant unknown graves, 
They are our heroes still. 

And long as yonder stately shaft 

Reflects the light of heaven, 

To heroes living— heroes dead « 

All honor shall be given. 

— Katharine E. Purvis. 

Chairman Duble introduced Hon. H. C. Parsons, who, 
when he arose, was greeted with applause. Mr. Par- 
sons congratulated the people of Lycoming County on 
their centennial celebration and its success, and said 
that it was a most happy occasion that the people and 
their neighbors could gather and that the results of 
such a meeting could not help but be beneficial. He 
briefly reviewed the progress of the county for the past 
hundred years, touching the various epochs in the 
county's history, and closed with a recital of the na- 
tural wealth with which the county is blessed, its lum- 
ber, coal, iron and marble, its productive hills and val- 
leys, its peoples, who have attained high positions in 
the professions, who have sent representatives to Con- 
gress, and Governors and high officials to Harrisburg, 
and finally in a glowing tribute praised the patriotism 
of the people who supplied warriors for the conflicts of 
1812 and 1861. 

Mr. Parsons was followed by the singing section of 
the Williamsport Turn Verein, which rendered the 
Star Spangled Banner in a patriotic manner. 



136 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

HISTORICIAL, AJDDRJESS. 

The chairman then introduced Hon. Charles Tubbs, 
of Osceola, Tioga County, who delivered the following 
historical address: 

There is a singular fascination about those employ- 
ments of the mind in which we seek to recall and re- 
construct the past; whether by the play of imagina- 
tion, the effort of memory, or the wider sweep and 
severer exercise of thought in gathering and comparing 
testimony concerning past events. The charm is one 
that many feel most powerfully, and yield to most read- 
ily, when imagination leads the way and the poet or the 
novelist evokes the semblance of things that have been. 
It is a charm acknowledged by others to whom verse 
and story have little attraction, yet those sober 
thoughts recur, with an interest that grows stronger 
as years go by, to the olden time of which they have 
heard, and of which their fathers have told them. Un- 
doubtedly the chief satisfaction of the mind in dealing 
with the past is found in those labors by which the facts 
of the past are ascertained. Difficult, baffling, often 
disappointing, this study is one of which we never 
weary. 

To aid us in our endeavor to live over the past, and to 
reproduce it for others — to tempt us and to help us on, 
there are the immutable things of nature: the scenery 
of the drama of human life that has been acted beneath 
these arching skies; the hills, the streams, the fields, 
the paths that were traced through the wilderness in 
the early settlement and have been trodden these hun- 
dred years; the sites, if not the dwellings, where the 
fathers lived. Through all these changes, man himself 
remains greatly the same. The joys, the troubles, the 
toils, the sufferings that break up this life of ours have 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 137 

been known from age to age. If change there be to re- 
cord, it is a change for the better. On the whole there 
is progress. It is with this thought deeply impressed 
upon the mind, that we meet to celebrate to-day the 
completion of one hundred years of the corporate ex- 
istence of Lycoming County. 

We are to discourse for a few minutes about the 
descendants of Mother Lycoming — those parts of the 
original territory in the north and west that have been 
detached to form other counties or parts of other coun- 
ties. Of what did Lycoming originally consist at her 
formation in 1795? Let us look at her as she was. On 
the north lies the state of New York; on the east the 
county of Luzerne, as it then existed; on the south an 
irregular line along the summit of the Nittany Moun- 
tain, a projection of which strikes the Allegheny* River 
near Kittanning, and on the west the Allegheny River 
and the Oonewango Creek. Gathered about Lycoming 
as she is to-day, and within these enclosing lines, lie the 
counties of Tioga, Potter, McKean, Forest, Elk, Cam- 
eron, Clinton, Clarion, Jefferson, Sullivan and parts of 
each of the counties of Warren, Venango, Armstrong, 
Indiana, Clearfield, Centre, Union and Bradford. W T e re- 
strict our vision to those sections lying to the north and 
west. 

A bird's-eye view of this vast tract of some twelve 
thousand square miles would disclose a table-land ris- 
ing to an elevation of twenty-six hundred feet above 
the level of the sea in the county of Potter, gradually 
sloping down the valley of the Allegheny on the north- 

*South of the line of the state of New York the custom is to spell the 
word "Allegheny;" north of the line, "Allegany." Why this custom 
should exist does not seem clear, as "Allegany" is certainly preferable. 
In obedience, however, to the Pennsylvania custom, that method of 
spelling has been followed. — Ed. 



138 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

era and western border and to the valley of the Susque- 
hanna on the east and south. This immense plateau 
would be seen to be gashed and seamed all over its 
rugged surface by the tributaries of thesemighty rivers. 
This is the theatre where our history is to be enacted. 

Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, standing 
upon the field of Saratoga at the centennial anniver- 
sary of the battle, said: "Our mountains and rivers 
have been the cause of so many of the great facts in the 
history of this country; they are so closely identified 
with its social and political affairs, that they seem to 
become sentient actors in its events. We are com- 
pelled to speak of their bearings upon the causes of war, 
of commerce and civilization." The location of hill and 
valley has tended to produce historic events at Sara- 
toga. Sometimes they have a contrary effect. The lo- 
cation of hill and valley has tended to carry away his- 
toric events from the counties formed from Lycoming 
in the north and west. The natural thoroughfares by 
land and water lie to the north and south and to the 
east and west of our location. Our mountains have 
held off and pushed away, both in peace and war, the 
events which men call historic. When the French, in 
the consummation of a grand design, bisected this con- 
tinent with their line of forts reaching from the Great 
Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, they built Presque Isle, 
LeBoeuf, Machault, just outside our boundary line 
upon the west. When the Moravians made their exo- 
dus from Wyalusing, in 1772, of which Bishop Ette- 
wein has left such an interesting record, instead of 
going due west through Tioga, Potter, McKean and 
Warren to their destination, they made a detour and 
ascended the West Branch of the Susquehanna and its 
southern affluents. When Colonel Thomas Hartley 
wished to punish the savages after the massacre at 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 139 

Wyoming, in 1778, he led his expedition along Lycom- 
ing Creek to the eastward of us. When General John 
Sullivan, in 1779, fought the battle of Newtown* and 
carried devastation into the heart of the Indian coun- 
try, he passed to the northward of us. When Captain 
McDonald and old Hiokoto led their hordes of com- 
bined Seneca Indians, British soldiers and Tory rene- 
gades to the destruction of Fort Freeland, in 1779, it 
was down the Loyalsock and across the territory of 
Mother Lycoming, east and south of us that they took 
their way. When a great treaty is to be held in 1790 
the trend of the mountain and the current of the rivers 
carry the high contracting parties to the east of us to 
Tioga Point. It. is not strange, then, in this view of the 
case, that the earliest events of which we have record, 
in the territory of which we write, transpired along 
that open, accessible, magnificent water-way known in 
our early annals as the Ohio River, but now laid down 
on all the maps as the Allegheny. Our drama opens at 
a point the most remote of any within our bounds from 
the Atlantic coast. It not only opens there, but for a 
period of fifty years all we have to record is what hap- 
pened along the Beautiful River. 

THE INDIANS. 

By diligent search we find we are entitled to record 
one battle* with the Indians as having taken place upon 
our territory — in the extreme south-west corner of 

*Near what is now known as the city of Elmira. — Ed. 

tWhat is known as the "battle of Muncy Hills," fought in September. 
1763, on what afterwards became the line of the county, and described 
in Vol. 11, pp. 172-191, of Loudon's Indian Narratives, might also be in- 
cluded. The white party consisted of about one hundred men on their 
way to the Great Island to destroy an Indian town. In the engagement 
the whites had two men killed and four wounded, two of which died 
during the night. Snake, an Indian captain, was also killed, which 
caused the Indians to disperse. — Ed. 



140 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Lycoming, as constituted in 1795, in the village of Kit- 
tanning. It was an Indian village of some thirty or forty 
houses, situated on the eastern bank of the Allegheny 
Tliver. It was the stronghold of Captain Jacobs and 
Shingas, some of the most active Indian chiefs, and the 
point from which they distributed their war parties 
along the frontier. The Indians were well supplied 
with the munitions of war by the French and were gath- 
ering a force to attack Fort Shirley. In September, 
1756, Colonel John Armstrong, with the active co-opera- 
tion of the Provincial government, raised an army of 
about three hundred men, who descended uponthetown 
and destroyed it. The Indians fought with great reso- 
lution, refusing to surrender when asked to do so. The 
fire of the Provincial troops failed to drive them out of 
their homes, and as their sheltered position allowed 
them to do great execution upon their assailants, re- 
course was had to burning their buildings. This had 
the effect to explode the kegs of powder of which they 
boasted they had enough stored away to supply their 
needs for ten years. Some of the enemy fled to the river 
and were either killed in the water or drowned. The 
total loss of the enemy was about forty lives, some am- 
munition and other valuable supplies. Many prisoners 
were released from captivity. It was considered a great 
victory and the corporation of the city of Philadelphia 
struck a medal in commemoration of it, and in honor of 
Col. John Armstrong. It was a severe stroke on the 
savages. Such of them as were of Kittanning, refused 
to settle again on the east side of the river, as they 
feared that in their absence on war parties their wig- 
wams might be reduced to ashes. 

In 1779 Col. Daniel Brodhead lead an army of six 
hundred men, rank and file, up the Alleghenj^ River. 
The object of this expedition was to attack the Indians 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 141 

in the western part of their dominion at the same time 
that General Sullivan assailed them in the east. Colonel 
Brodhead reported to General Washington that he 
landed on the east side of the Allegheny River at Ma- 
honing, near which he dispersed a band of forty Indians 
who were descending the river in canoes, killing many. 
Above the month of the Conewango Creek he destroyed 
five hundred acres of corn and eight Indian villages. 
He also obtained much plunder. The Indians fled at 
his approach. 

Aside from these two encounters with the savages, 
our Indian history is soon recited. It. does not figure 
to any great extent in the colonial records, and there is 
no long correspondence to sift and reduce to reason- 
able limits. 

Our territory in the historic period was entirely under 
the sway of the chiefs of the Iroquois or Six Nations 
and in that part of their domain that was dominated by 
the warriors of the wily Senecas. The Senecas were by 
far the most numerous and powerful of these confed- 
erated savages. Among them, here and there, were set 
down tribes of Monsey, Shawanese, Wyandot and other 
subject peoples who were shifted about from place to 
place to suit the whim, the caprice or the policy of their 
imperious masters. Northern Pennsylvania and the 
region of the Allegheny was a hunting ground into 
which the Senecas descended from the seat of their 
power upon the Genesee. There were their castles, and 
there they kindled their council fires. Within our bord- 
ers there is no record nor tradition of the existence of 
large villages, extensive settlements or dense popula- 
tion. In the county of Tioga no village site is known 
by the name given it by the Indians. There is slight 
evidence of conflicts among themselves, and aside from 
the fight at Kittanning and near Mahoning the battles 

13 



142 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

for supremacy between them and the white men took 
place at Wyoming, at Newtown, at Fort Freeland, in 
the great valleys just outside of our territorial limits. 
By the treaty made at Fort Stanwix in October, 1784, 
the Indian title to North-western Pennsylvania was 
extinguished, but when the time came for the former 
lords of the soil to abandon their hunting grounds thev 
did it. with great reluctance. Outrages and murders 
were committed along the border; there was a state of 
unrest among the savages, and of apprehension on the 
part of their white neighbors. 

Further negotiations ensued at Fort Mcintosh and 
at Tioga Point; Fort Franklin was kept garrisoned; an 
army was in the field under Harmar and St. Clair and 
it was not until after the decisive victories won by Gen- 
eral Wayne, in 1794, that a sense of security settled 
down upon the frontier along tho Allegheny. Our sec- 
tion of the state was the last to which the Indian title 
was acquired. In March, 1789, however, our Legisla- 
ture ceded back a tract of six hundred and forty acres 
of land upon the Allegheny called Jen-ne-sa-da-ga to 
the Seneca chief, Cornplanter, upon which he spent the 
remainder of his life. He died in 1836. This tract of 
land is still held in fee by the descendants of Corn- 
planter who reside upon it. We thus have in Warren 
County, inside the limits of ancient Lycoming, the only 
tract of land in the state of Pennsylvania where the 
Indian tribal relation exists to-day. 

The careful student of our annals will note the infre- 
quent use of Indian names as applied to streams, moun- 
tains or localities. Of the counties formed from Ly- 
coming, only Tioga has a name of Indian origin, and 
that did not originally belong to the locality. The peo- 
ple of the place designated "Tioga" by the Indians dis- 
carded it for the classic name of "Athens." Of the 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 143 

parts of the counties formed from Lycoming, only 
Venango has a name of Indian origin, and we rejoice to 
say it honestly belongs to that locality. All honor to 
Venango. How she escaped being called Rome or 
Utica it is hard to understand. We have, however, all 
over this region a thin sprinkling of beautiful and ap- 
propriate Indian names. Among them we might men- 
tion Cowanesque, Oswayo, Honeoye, Conewango, Kin- 
zua, Tionesta, Kittanning, Mahoning, Punxsutawney, 
Daguscahonda, Moshannon and Sinnelmahoning. In 
Tioga County we have discarded the picturesque appel- 
lation "Tiadaghton" for the prosaic term Pine Creek, 
and in another section of ancient Lycoming "Chinkla- 
canioose" has been set aside for the very common desig- 
nation of the Clearfield. These names for the most 
part apply to streams. They will go on through the 
ages reminding those who inhabit here, by their rugged 
and characteristic accents, of the vanished race of 
whom they are now the only permanent remaining me- 
morials. "Their name is on our waters, we may not 
wash it out." 

EXPLORERS. 

When the white man first set foot within this terri- 
tory is a subject of some uncertainty. Most likely one 
of those Jesuit missionaries who have left records of 
their journeying southward from Canada or northern 
New York, was our first European visitor. In Sagard's 
History of Canada (1632) there is a letter written by 
Joseph de la Roche D'Allion, a Franciscan missionary, 
dated July 18, 1629, in which he tells of crossing the 
Niagara River and traveling south until he came to a 
section of the country "where the Indians had a good 
kind of oil." Charlevois, in the journals of his voyage 
and travels, under date of May 21, 1721, records that 



144 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

M. de Joncaire had assured him that he "had seen a 
fountain that tasted like oil." Who can doubt that 
these Frenchmen had visited our oil regions? At a 
later day we can leave inference and state facts. Among 
the first veritable explorers were those who took pos- 
session of the country on behalf of France. The 
French did not plant a settlement or a colony on the 
Allegheny; they took a formal possession of the country. 
They based their claim on the original discoveries of 
Marquette and LaSalle and upon the construction they 
gave to the treaties of Ryswick, Utrecht and Aix-la- 
Chapelle. Early in the eighteenth century, Bancroft 
tells us that "not a fountain bubbled on the west of the 
Allegheny, but was claimed as belonging to the French 
Empire," and this claim was extended until it 
reached the Allegheny Mountains. To make 
proclamation of this claim Gallisoniere, Gov- 
ernor of Canada sent M. de Celeron, in com- 
mand of three hundred French soldiers, Can- 
adians and Indians, on an expedition down the 
Allegheny Kiver in the year 1749. They entered the 
river by way of Conewango Creek, thus passingover the 
water-way which formed the western boundary of an- 
cient Lycoming. On the western bank of the river this 
expedition halted and with stately ceremony buried a 
leaden plate. There was an inscription upon it to this 
effect — "Buried this plate at the confluence of the To- 
ra-da-koin, this 29th day of July, 1749, near the river 
Ohio, otherwise Beautiful Kiver, as a monument of re- 
newal of possession." Then they passed on and per- 
formed the same function at other points. The French 
did not limit their acts of possession to this stately 
ceremony. In 1753, Captain Joncaire built Fort Ma- 
chault at Franklin, where they had buried the leaden 
plate, and it was occupied by a garrison of French sol- 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBES. 145 

diers. At times as many as a thousand men composed 
the garrison. It was at this fort, in 1753, that Lieu- 
tenant George Washington, aged twenty-one, in the 
service of Governor Robert Dinwiddie, of Virginia, 
visited Captain Joncaire to inquire into the designs of 
the French upon the Allegheny. All of the territory of 
which I write along the Allegheny River was within 
the claim of the French. The great water-way that led 
into it, and gave access to it, lay under the guns of Fort 
Machault. In July, 1759, the fort was evacuated, and 
thus at the end of ten years from the burial of the leaden 
plate the French corps of observation departed. 

The next explorer of our territory was the Rev. David 
Zeisberger. He established a Moravian mission in 17C>7 
among the Indians at Goschgoschchunk, near the site of 
the village of Tionesta, the county seat of Forest 
County. During a space of two years he made several 
journeys to this place and preached to a tribe of Mon- 
seys that the Senecas had permitted to remain there. 
His route into the country was along the Chemung and 
Canisteo Rivers and from thence to the Allegheny, down 
which he floated to his destination. He thus describes 
the natives: "I have never found such heathen in any 
other part of the Indian country; here Satan has his 
stronghold, here he sits on his throne, here he is wor- 
shiped by true savages and carries on his work in the 
hearts of the children of darkness." He kept a journal 
of his travels in these wilds and it is in the archives of 
the Moravian Church at Bethlehem. It is of great in- 
terest. It records the descriptions, impressions and ex- 
periences of a first explorer in a new country. It is all 
written out for our delight and information. His mis- 
sion was broken up by the Senecas, who ordered the 
Monseys to leave that locality in 1769. 

The next explorers who have left any record of their 



146 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

journey were the commissioners who surveyed the 
boundary line between the state of Pennsylvania and 
New York in 1787. Andrew Ellicott and Andrew Porter 
were the Pennsylvania commissioners. They were ac- 
companied by a large party of helpers. Following the 
course pointed out by their compass they got away 
from the streams and into the mountains. The map 
they made of the boundary line gave important knowl- 
edge of the new and hitherto unknown country. Aside 
from the map there is scanty knowledge of what befell 
them by the way. Ellicott wrote a few short letters t:> 
the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, from 
which we quote: "The Seneca chiefs who attended on 
behalf of their nation will expect two rifled guns. We 
arrived at the Cawwanishee Flats (Lawrenceville, 
Tioga County,) on the 11th day of June, 1787, where the 
90th mile stone was set up last season. We sent our 
instruments up the Thyesa (Cowanesque) in canoes 
about ten miles; our water carriage then failed; we had 
recourse to our pack horses, but the ruggedness of the 
country at the heads of the Susquehanna, Geneseeo and 
Allegheny Eivers soon killed and rendered useless 
about two-thirds. We were ordered by the Indians to 
discontinue the line until after a treaty should be held. 
We met them at the time and place appointed, ex- 
plained the nature of the business we were about and 
were finally permitted to proceed.'' Andrew Ellicott 
offered to sell to the state of Pennsylvania "such obser- 
vations as we made on the soil and natural history of 
the country through which we passed for the sum of 
£150, hard money." But we regret to say the state did 
not make the purchase and the manuscript has since 
been destroyed. 

The next explorers of our territory came in 1790. They 
were Samuel Maclay, Timothy Matlack and John Ad- 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 147 

lum. They were members of a commission appointed 
by the state to survey the West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna, the Sinnemahoning, the Allegheny and other 
rivers for the purpose of ascertaining if connections 
could be opened by roads or canals with Lake Erie for 
the purpose of drawing trade to Philadelphia. These 
men spent the summer of 1790 in the very heart of our 
territory. Samuel Maclay kept a daily journal of the 
incidents of all kinds that befell the commisioners in 
the prosecution of their duties. This delightful journal 
was brought to light, annotated and published, after it 
had laid dormant for an hundred years, by that most 
indefatigable local historian, John F. Meginness. These 
commissioners passed the last habitation of a white 
man at the mouth of the Sinnemahoning, but did not 
encounter any Indians until they were near where the 
Allegheny crosses the state line. There they found 
the Cornplanter and his tribe. In surveying these 
water-Mays and portages they describe for the first time 
the interior of this great tract of wild and rugged coun- 
try, about the outer edge of which adventurous explor 
ers had been so long traveling. With their report the 
work of exploration was finished. 

LAND TITLES. 

It would seem at. this time that the country was ripe 
for settlement. The forests had been explored, the In- 
dians disposed of. What was the difficulty now? The 
difficulty now was to know, after the extinction of the 
Indian title, what white men had the right to govern the 
territory and dispose of the lands. Xo considerable 
number of intended settlers will remove into a new 
country to build up homes, if there is any question as 
to the title of the lands. In this case there was a con- 
troversv. Two sets of white men claimed the lands. 



148 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

This controversy between these two sets of men was an 
ancient one and during a period of forty years the issue 
was fought out on the battle field, in the courts, in the 
Legislature and before a commission appointed by Con- 
gress. In the phrase of McMaster — "Heads were 
bruised, bones broken, crops destroyed, settlements 
plundered and even lives lost and the peace of the Sus- 
quehanna Valley was destroyed by a feud worthy of 
the middle ages." 

As this controversy retarded the settlement and de- 
velopment of our section of ancient Lycoming for sev- 
eral years, we will briefly state the grounds of it: In 
1620 King James the First of England granted a 
charter to the Plymouth Company for the ruling and 
governing of New England in America. This charter 
covered North America from the fortieth to the forty- 
sixth degree of north latitude and from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific oceans. The Plymouth Company pro- 
ceeded to sub-divide its territory. In 1631 it granted a 
charter to the Connecticut colony which practically 
covered the space between the forty-first and forty-sec- 
ond parallels of north latitude and extended west to the 
Pacific Ocean. In its westward reach this grant in- 
cluded ancient Lycoming. In 1662 King Charles the 
Second gave a new charter to Connecticut, confirming 
the act of the Plymouth Company. Nineteen years 
later, in 1681, this same monarch, in the grant of Penn- 
sylvania to William Penn, included a portion of the 
same territory already given to Connecticut. It also 
contained our original county of Lycoming. TheConnec- 
ticut claimants mapped out what is now the counties of 
Tioga, Potter and McKean as far west as the Tuna Val- 
ley, in connection with vast tracts of land south of them, 
into townships five miles square, designated each by a 
name, opened a land office and offered them for sale at 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 149 

a low price. Many of these townships were located and 
surveyed by the purchasers and some of them occupied. 
My own ancestors purchased land in Tioga County un- 
der a Connecticut title. The place where I reside* was . 
called "Exchange" on the Connecticut map. The Con- 
necticut claimants had extinguished the Indian title 
to these lands, as they maintained, by a treaty made 
with the Six Nations at Albany in 1754. They were 
active in selling their lands from the close of the Revo- 
lutionary war until 1802. 

At the same time owners of Pennsylvania titles were 
active in locating land warrants upon the same lands 
and having their titles recorded in the land office at 
Philadelphia. The conclusion of the whole matter was, 
that Pennsylvania enacted a law, April 6th, 1802, of 
the most severe and drastic character and enforced it 
with great rigor. By it she cut up by the roots the title 
of Connecticut claimants in this section of the state. 

Rev. David Craft, in discussing this subject in his 
history of Bradford County, says: "Want of support, 
the increasing number who were securing Pennsylvania 
titles, defection in their own ranks and the growing 
power of the state, finally induced the Connecticut 
claimants either to submit to the laws regulating titles 
or leave the state." Thus this question was disposed of 
and out of the way. During its pendency nearly all of 
the lands in the counties formed from Lycoming were 
purchased largely by Philadelphia capitalists and spec 
ulators from all quarters. Some of these capitalists 
and speculators were: James Strawbridge, William 
Bingham, John Keating, Jacob Ridgway, Samuel Fox, 
James Trimble, B. B. Cooper, The Holland Company, 
The United States Land Company and others. Now 

*Now known as the pretty little village of Osceola. 
19 



150 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

that they owned these lands, and that their titles were 
confirmed, they wished to dispose of them at a profit. 
They wished to induce large and extensive settlements. 
In order to do this it was necessary that the Indian 
trails through the forests, and the paths of the scout, 
the hunter and the trapper, should be replaced by some 
sort of roads. 

HIGHWAYS. 

The Legislature was besieged to aid in this work and 
at a very early day laws were enacted creating state 
roads. Sometimes it happened there was a very close 
connection between the land owner and the legislator, 
as witness the following abstract from the Acts of 
Assembly approved by Thomas Mifflin, Governor, April 
10, 1702: "Be it enacted — That the Governor is hereby 
empowered to appoint commissioners for the purpose 
of laying out a road from Loyalsock Creek on the West 
Branch of the Susquehanna to the Towanisco (Cowanes 
que) Branch of Tioga and to extend up to the one hun- 
dred and nine mile stone." 

(Signed.) William Bingham, 

Speaker, H. R. 

The Speaker's signature suggests practical politics. 
William Wilson, Esq., was one of the viewers and 
Samuel Scott was the surveyor. It was for the most 
part on the surveyed and marked out site of this road 
that the famous Williamson road was built in the fall of 
1702 — at least that part of it which runs over the Laurel 
Mountains and to the "Towanisco (Cowanesque) Branch 
of Tioga." The work of constructing the road was 
done by a party of Germans, under the command of 
Benjamin Patterson. The Germans were about 200 
in number, men, women and children, whom Patter- 
son was conducting to the lands which afterwards be- 



ADDRESS BY ME. TUBBS. 151 

came the Pulteney estate in the state of New York. On 
the "Draught" of this road, made by William Gray, in 
1792, and on file in the office of the Secretary of Internal 
Affairs, at Harrisburg, a "settlement" is noted near the 
site of Tioga, "Baker's house," near the site of Law- 
renceville and "James Strawbridge Improvement," at 
the site of Academy Corners, in Tioga County. 

April 8, 1799, another state road was authorized from 
Newberry to the one hundred and nine mile stone by 
way of Morris' Mills and Strawbridge's Marsh. Wells- 
boro is situated near the aforesaid Marsh and the road 
passed through the site upon which it was afterwards 
built. This road came up Pine Creek and the Stony 
Fork. 

In 1798 Francis King, agent of John Keating, opened 
a road from Jersey Shore by way of Port Allegany to 
Ceres in McKean County. Then there was the 
Boone road from the West Branch into the heart of Pot- 
ter County. In the year 1806 another state road was 
ordered to be laid out from the Moosic Mountain west- 
ward through the counties of Tioga,Potter and McKean. 
This road was built mainly by the aid rendered by John 
Keating. It was nearly parallel with the state line 
and about twenty miles distant therefrom. Where this 
road crossed the Allegheny River, in the county of Pot- 
ter, a town was laid out in 1807 and named Coudersport, 
in honor of Samuel Coudere, an European friend of John 
Keating. Where this road crosses the Potato Creek, in 
the county of McKean, a village site was laid out in 1807 
and named Smethport, in honor of Theodore Smethe, 
an European friend of John Keating, the owner of the 
land. 

FIRST SETTLERS. 

They came into the country over these roads. They 
were mainly from the New England States. In these 



152 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

states the soil is sterile and the climate severe. After 
the Revolutionary war there was a breaking up of the 
old conditions which had obtained during colonial 
times. The young men who had seen service in the 
army broke away from the slow and humdrum succes- 
sion of events which had formed the environment of 
their forefathers. A great deal was said about western 
lands, fertile lands and broader and better opportuni- 
ties to be had in Northern Pennsylvania and the Gene- 
see country, which we might call the firstinstallmentof 
the Great West. In those days of few newspapers and 
no telegraphs, the wrangle and fight over the title had 
been a great advertisement. Young, hardy, active, ad- 
venturous spirits were ready to take a hand in the game 
of subduing Indians, fighting the Pennamites and win- 
ning a home. When the fight with the Pennamites went 
against them, most of them remained and established 
the home. That accounts for the presence of so many 
of us (their descendants) here to-day. 

Another element of our population came from the 
lower counties of the Commonwealth. As before 
stated, our Philadelphia land owners had seen to it that 
roads were constructed, having a trend from south to 
north. They ran up the Lycoming, up Pine Creek, up 
the Sinnemahoning, up the Driftwood Branch. Over 
them came from the southward now and then a Quaker, 
a few Scotch-Irish and many colonies of sturdy Ger- 
mans. 

1795. Over all of these heterogeneous peoples, gath- 
ered on the verge of the wilderness or within its gloomy 
depths, Mother Lycoming stretched her protecting 
arms. Population increased, and the work of develop- 
ment went on. The time for separation had come. 
Events had moved with amazing rapidity. 

1800. Centre, Armstrong, Venango and Warren are 



ADDRESS BY MR. TUBBS. 153 

each bidden to go forth free from future maternal tute- 
lage. 

1803. Indiana receives her portion and enters upon 
her own career. 

1804. Tioga, Potter, McKean, Jefferson and Clear- 
field are each given their endowments and gently 
pushed from under the home roof. One by one there- 
after go out the various descendants, until the eigh- 
teen, in their differing degrees of relationship, have 
departed. 

To set forth in detail, or even in general terms, the 
life history of each is beyond the limit of this paper. 
At the hundredth anniversary of the corporate life of 
Mother Lycoming, they come in one great sisterhood, 
and lay at her feet most grateful acknowledgment for 
the wealth with which she endowed them. For did she 
not bestow upon them lands galore? And what of 
those lands? There are hillsides and mountain 
slopes. There are high lying, alluvial valleys. 
Interwoven among these are rushing torrents, stately 
streams, and slow-moving, majestic rivers. At another 
glance we see lofty forests of white pine trees, and not 
one of the sisterhood but received a generous share. It 
took seventy years of the century now ended to hew 
down these forests of pine, to dress them into slender 
spars, squared timber, logs and boards; to construct 
them into rafts and float them down the streams and 
rivers to advantageous markets. Still another glance 
reveals such forests of dark and gloomy hemlocks as 
existed nowhere else in the United States, and to each 
of the sisterhood a large tract was given. 

For the past forty years an army of lumbermen have 
laid siege to these monarchs of the forest. They have 
stripped them of their bark to be consumed on our 
soil in the largest tanneries in the world. Many miles 



154 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of their prostrate forms are afloat in the waters that 
border your capital city. No Corsair that sailed the 
Spanish Main ever made port with such shiploads of 
booty as year by year have come back in honest pay- 
ment for these timber trees of hemlock and pine. 

These gifts were upon the surface — visible, apparent, 
and were impartially distributed. But others were to 
be had for the finding. Stored away from sight in the 
bowels of the earth, but within reach of pick and shovel, 
were millions of tons of bituminous coal. It has been 
brought forth as needed, from these inexhaustible treas- 
ure houses, to furnish heat for the world. 

But stranger and more surprising gifts were in store 
for those sisters who took their portion in those lands 
that lie near, or border, the banks of the Beautiful 
River. Stored away in the bowels of the earth, beyond 
the reach of the pick and shovel, but obtained with 
derrick and drill, lie those mysterious fountains of min- 
eral oil that have enriched their possessors "beyond 
the dreams of avarice." 

Your descendants gather here to-day under the an- 
cestral roof tree. They are confident of parental com- 
mendation for the part taken by them in the war for the 
Union, for the fact that when armed rebellion raised its 
bloody hands against the life of the Republic, your 
descendants sent forth their hardy sons in one generous, 
continuous stream, and where there was danger to be 
met, suffering to be endured, or glory to be won, they 
were among the foremost. Stalwart blows they dealt 
and their blood has enriched, and their bones whitened, 
ever} battle field. 

Your descendants gathered here are confident of 
maternal commendation for such success as they have 
attained in the commercial and business world — for the 
railroads they have built, the telegraph and telephone 



THE INDUSTRIAL PARADE. 155 

lines they have constructed, the religious, charitable 
and educational institutions they have fostered and 
maintained. 

With such a record in the past, confidently they go 
forward, to meet the duties, labors and responsibilities 
of the future. 

CLOSING EXERCISES. 

. At the conclusion of the address the Turn Verein 
sang a German selection entitled "Gott Gruesze Dich," 
which was followed by the benediction by Rev. Elliott 
C Armstrong. 

The exercises of the day closed with the balloon as- 
cension and parachute drop in the evening and the dis- 
play of fire-works at night, when there was a rush to 
Antiquarian Hall, to view the wonderful collection on 
exhibition there. 

THIRD AND LAST DAT. 

As Thursday, July 4th, was to be the last day of the 
series of celebrations, extraordinary efforts had been 
made by all concerned to make the demonstration a 
success. Inspired by the patriotic sentiments which 
cluster around the memories of this day, every man, 
woman and child felt it to be their duty to lend their 
aid and influence towards making the celebration as 
great a success as possible. And their sympathy and 
influence were not expended in vain. 

The following elaborate program for the exercises of 
the day was isued by the Director General: 

Salute of nineteen guns at 6 A. M. from Brandon Park, near the 
intersection of Market and Hepburn streets. 

Bells to be rung- and whistles blown at 7 A. M. 

Industrial parade at 10 A. M., as follows: The first division will as- 
semble and be formed by its marshal on Pine Street in front of the. 
City Hall, right resting on Fourth Street. 

The second division will assemble and be formed by Its marshal on 



156 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENTIAL. 

Third Street, right resting on Mulberry and extending as far west on 
Third Street as may be necessary. 

The third division will assemble and be formed by its marshal on 
both sides of Market Street, south of Third Street, and extending down 
Front Street if necessary. The right will rest on Market Square. 

The fourth division will assemble and be formed by its marshal on 
Market Street, north of Third Street, right resting on Market Square, 
and will extend west on Fourth Street if necessary. 

It is urged that all persons making exhibits in the parade should 
report with their floats not later than 9:30 A. M., in order that places 
may be assigned them early. All floats will be placed in line in the 
order in which they arrive at their respective divisions. . 

Only such boroughs and townships as have reported their exhibit 
have been assigned to divisions. Others which have not yet reported, 
and which will send floats, will be assigned positions when they report. 
The display made by each borough or township will be kept together in 
making up the divisions. 

The chief marshal will establish headquarters in Market Square at 9 
o'clock in the morning of the parade, and can be found there by the mar- 
shals of divisions, who will from time to time send an aid to report pro- 
gress. Each marshal will send a report at 10 o'clock sharp. 

The parade will be formed as follows: (Mounted police; Col. F. B. 
Embick, chief marshal; W. P. Clarke, chief of staff. Aids, J. J. Rear- 
don, Hugh L. White, W. P. Bradley, R. F. Allen, Harry W. Lentz, W. P. 
Riley, Clinton Coleman, Hiram M. Ulman, George D. Snyder, W. R. 
Deemer, Joseph W. Cochran, William 8. Youngman, Joseph G. Stewart, 
George R. Stearns, Dr. Newell L. Johnson, Harry C. Bubb, James B. 
Denworth, John F. Laedlein, Frank P. Abercrombie, Charles J. Reilly, 
John B. Embick, Aslher Updegraff, John F. Eder. Carl Herdic, Joseph 
Austrian, J. H. Foresman, Harry Parsons, J. Walton Bowman, Clar- 
ence E. Bubb, John G. Coryell, F. E. Backus, Dr. H. G. MoCormick, S. Q. 
Mingle, David Bly. 

First Division — Capt. H. L. Beck, marshal, and aids; Fisk band; 
carriages containing the officers and directors of the Centennial Asso- 
ciation, the Mayor, county, city and borough officials; Williamsport Fire 
Department, under the direction of its chief; South Williamsport Fire 
department, under the direction of its chief; Darktown Fire Brigade, 
under the direction of its chief. 

Second Division — 'Col. D. R. Foresman, marshal, and aids; Repasz 
band; floats representing the industries of the city of Williamsport. 

Third Division — Maj. W. C. King, and aids; Distin band; Mclntyre. 
Montgomery, Nippenose. Hughesville, Picture Rocks, Ba?tress. 

Fourth Division — J. H. Boyer, marshal, and aids; P. O. S. of A. band; 
Montoursville, Muncy, Loyalsock, Anthony, Lycoming, Hepburn. 

When orders are given for the line to move the first division will 
move down Pine to Third, and thence over the route of parade. 
The second division will be prepared to move when the left of the nrst 
division has passed. The third division will mcwe when uncovered by 
the second, and the fourth division will follow the left of the third into 
Market Square. 



THE INDUSTRIAL PARADE. 157 

The route of the parade will be as follows: Down Third to Grove, to 
Washington, to Franklin, to Fourth, to Park, to Third, to Locust, to 
Fourth, to William, to Third, to Market Square, where the parade will 
be dismissed. 

By order of Chief Marshal Embick. W. P. Clarke, Chief of Staff. 

Civic exercises at the court house at 2 P. M. — Music by Repasz band ; 
prayer by Rev. T. S. Wilcox; introductory address, J. A. Beeber, presi- 
dent; reading of Declaration of Independence, John G. Reading; singing 
by Harmonia society; historical address by C. LaRue Munson, Esq.; 
music by the band; centennial ode, Charles K. Geddes, Esq.; patriotic 
address by Hon. Emerson' Collins; singingby Harmonia society :benedic- 
iton by Rev. W. F. Rick. 

Committee in charge — J. A. Beeber, John F. Laedlein, R. H. Lawshe, 
W. E. Crawford, Robert K. Reeder, William H. Everett, Thomas B. 
Griffith. 

Balloon ascension and parachute leap will take place at 4 o'clock 
from the old fair grounds. Prof. Frank H. Kepner, of Sturgess, Michi- 
gan, as the aeronaut, and he will ascend not less than three thousand 
feet before cutting loose with his parachute. 

Antiquarian exhibition open from 7 A. M. until 10 P. M. Fire-works 

dislpay, 8:30 P. M., at Vallamont. 

H. S. LUCAS, 

Director General. 
THE GREAT DAY. 

The opening could not have been more propitious. 
Not a cloud obscured the sky. The morning salute was 
fired with the precision of clock-work, and as the rever- 
beration of the guns rolled back from the wooded hills, 
the sound filled the valley and inspired the populace 
with patriotic emotions. Everybody was astir at 
an early hour. The day was to be the greatest in the 
history of the county and city. The people outside of 
the city entered into the spirit of the occasion and made 
the industrial parade a great success. The display 
came up to expectations. No greater demonstration 
was ever witnessed in the city since Michael Ross had 
his ox roast and Fourth of July celebration on Market 
Square a century before. People came not only from 
every township and borough in the county, but they 
came from every place within a radius of a hundred 
miles. To give an exact estimate of the number of 

20 



158 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

strangers in the city was almost impossible, but com- 
petent judges believe that it reached fully fifty thou- 
sand; which number added to the resident population, 
swelled the total to seventy-five or eighty thousand. 
In a word, "it was a tremendous throng," to use a popu- 
lar expression of the day, and was noted for the good 
order which prevailed and the freedom from casualties. 

The divisions having been formed soon after 10 
o'clock, the parade moved over the route laid down in 
the program, with Chief of Police Russell, mounted 
patrolmen, Col. F. E. Embick, chief marshal, and chief 
of Staff, Maj. W. P. Clarke, with their aids, leading the 
van. The divisions were marshaled and composed as 
follows: 

First Division — Fisk military band; Marshal H. L. 
Beck, Frederick D. Snyder, chief of staff, and the fol- 
lowing aids: Carroll D. Smith, Charles Cochran, "Rob- 
ert E. Rowley, Frank Parsons, George P. Crocker, John 
B. Beck, John A. Crocker, W. H. Tinsman, W. C. Law- 
son, W. C. Perkins, H. D. Brown, H. Lee Allen, Frank 
Foresman, E. P. Young, Samuel McMullen, Edward Y. 
Koch, C. E. Else, Charles Bartles, Jr., W. E. C. Merri- 
man, N. A. Canfield, Harry P. Canfield, James E. Gib- 
son, John I. Stopper, Daniel B. Stiltz, Fred Duffy, Frank 
O. Emery, Eben B. Campbell. 

Carriages containing Centennial Association officials, 
county officials, city officials, members of Select and 
Common Councils, Board of Education and Board of 
Health. 

Chief of Fire Department Miles; Williamsport Fire 
Department. 

Independent Hose Company, South Williamsport. 

Second Division — Col. D. R. Foresman, marshal; aids: 
O. L. Nichols, H. M. Foresman, N. M. Edwards, Hall 
Reighard, Hiram H. Winner, Daniel S. Updegraff. 



THE INDUSTRIAL PARADE. 159 

Repasz band, Rowley & Hermance Machine Com- 
pany, headed by A. D. Hermance, an official of the firm, 
in a carriage, and followed by a large dray loaded with 
machinery, and 150 of the employes of the establish- 
ment in carriages and on foot. 

Dayton Shoe Factory, one wagon prettily decorated. 

The Wire Buckle Suspender Company, one large float 
on which a young lady, dressed to represent the God- 
dess of Liberty, stood on a handsome globe covered 
with tin foil, and surrounded by a number of others 
engaged in making suspenders. 

Tivy Cycle Manufacturing Company, one wagon. 

Demorest Manufacturing Company. This firm was 
represented by a cabin-shaped float having two apart- 
ments, one showing how sewing was done a century 
ago, and the other the manner in which it is accom- 
plished at the present time. 

An old-time conveyance drawn by a yoke of oxen, the 
vehicle containing a couple dressed in ancient wedding- 
regalia and labeled, "How we Married a Hundred 
Years Ago." This was followed by a bride and groom 
of the nineteenth century on bicycles, the bride wear- 
ing bloomers. 

Two hundred and fifty employes of the Demorest 
shops, forty of whom rode bicycles manufactured at the 
Demorest works. 

F. H. Keller & Co., hardware, one wagon. 

D. S. Andrus & Co., one wagon containing musical 
instruments. 

Williamsport Wagon Company, one float, loaded with 
several new buggies in which young ladies were seated. 

Muir & Scott, one float, with carpets, rugs and trim- 
mings. 

Gohl & King, flour wagons, flour and groceries. 

Williamsport Bakery, a branch of the United States 



160 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Baking Company, was represented by their large drays, 
displaying a fine assortment of crackers, cakes, biscuits, 
etc. 

National Paint Works, one large decorated float, 
loaded with barrels of paint. 

The White Sewing Machine Company, one wagon 
with operators showing the merits of the machine. 

Shadle's five wagons and two floats, loaded with the 
fruits of the bakery, Rudy Evert commanding. One of 
the wagons has been in use by the firm ever since they 
started in business. 

ErtePs Bakery, one wagon. 

E. H. Young & Brothers' Cigar Manufactory, Far- 
randsville, Pa., of which Julius Weddigen, of this city, 
is agent, one wagon. 

Central Commission Company, two wagons, contain- 
ing grain, shingles, etc. 

Beck Brothers, hardware dealers, one wagon. 

George Bubb & Sons, two drays containing teas, 
coffee and tobacco. 

George W. Croll, plumber, with employes seated in 
a light conveyance, on which was inscribed, "Pioneer 
Plumber." 

New York millinery store, one wagon. 

Simon Shloss, one float, huge demijohn and liquors. 

Fisk, Krimm & Co., one wagon, musical instruments. 

Williamsport Advertising Agency, displaying the 
Keystone Rubber Stamp Works and Flock's brewery. 

John F. Rhem, candy and confectioneries. 

Wenner & Son, three wagons, groceries. 

J. H. McMinn, two coal wagons, loaded with "dusky 
diamonds" and several boys seated thereon, clothed in 
miners' costumes. 

E. M. Baldwin, one wagon of flour and feed, followed 
by five brand new coal wagons. 



THE INDUSTRIAL PARADE. 161 

Duncan & Waidley's novelty and 5 and 10 cent stores, 
one wagon. 

Reading coal docks, seven coal wagons loaded with 
coal. 

City Steam Laundry, one wagon. 

Lloyd's Laundry, three wagons. 

Meeker's Medicine Company, one wagon. 

People's Medicine Company, one large covered wagon, 
containing cases of medicine. 

H. C. & J. A. Olinstead, one wagon with Dr. Meeker's 
medicines. 

L. L. Stearns & Sons, wagons representing the gro- 
cery and dry goods departments of their immense 
stores. 

Waltz & Sheets, groceries, two wagons. 

D. R. Foresman, city dray line, one large dray wagon 
drawn by six horses and filled with men. 

Timothy Curtin, grocer, one wagon. 

Dittmar's Furniture Company, one float, on which 
were samples of work done at the factory. 

A. H. Heilman & Co., furniture, two wagons. 

Christian Gohl, two vehicles, one being a turnout 
made in 1795 and labeled, "The Wonderful One Hoss 
Shay," and the other a float containing a handsome 
new buggy just from the shop. 

Schell & Gray, groceries, one wagon. 

The Standard Sewing Machine Company, one wagon. 

The Williamsport Pretzel Bakery, B. P. McClain, 
proprietor, three wagons, the first representing a large 
brick oven on wheels. 

Hotel Updegraff, three 'buses. 

Atlantic Tea Company, one wagon. 

People's Express Company, four wagons containing 
baggage. 



162 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Thompson's South Side Ice Company, five wagons 
and fifteen men. 

Williamsport Lounge Company, one wagon contain- 
ing samples of its work. 

Grand Union Tea Company, one wagon. 

Third Division — W. C. King, marshal; aids: H. H. 
Russell, Ed. L. Taylor, W. H. Faber, Dr. W. W. Hull, 
Joseph H. Coder, I. M. Boyce and J. S. Kilbourn. 

Distin band. 

Darktown Fire Brigade band. 

Burgess and Council of South Williamsport in car- 
riages. 

Thirty-five mounted men, marshaled by M. IT. Low, 
from Gamble Township. 

Bastress Township cornet band. 

Twelve men seated in an old-fashioned road wagon. 

A large grain separator in full operation. 

Large float showing work done at the Huller Bro til- 
ers' Horse Collar Manufactory, Collomsville, a firm 
that was awarded a prize at the World's Fair. 

A wagon filled with the Bovee grain cradles, manu- 
factured by Samuel Bovee, Cogan Station. 

An immense covered float, drawn by six large 
draught horses and containing the business cards of 
all business places in Montgomery. 

Pioneer wagon from Antes Fort, made in the year 
1794 and drawn by four horses; it was occupied by the 
Antes Fort cornet band. 

Col. George Washington Crane, of the historic town- 
ship of Nippenose, appeared in the parade, on horse- 
back, dressed in a uniform of "Ye Olden Tyme Militia.'' 
As the colonel is noted for his soldierly bearing, he 
naturally attracted much attention clad in this unique 
military costume. 



THE INDUSTRIAL PARADE. 163 

Fourth Division — N. B. Bubb, marshal; aids: H. S. 
Meyer, A. G. Miller, William Silverman, Charles Rich, 
Abe Hart, A. L. Sarvey, Abram Gibson, L. M. Otto, John 
Hays, George C. Burrows and W. F. Laedlein. 

P. O. S. of A. band, Newberry. 

A large float of the Montoursville Manufacturing 
Company, pantaloon makers, containing a corps of girls 
busily engaged at sewing machines. 

S. Mendenhall & Son, Montoursville, one float with 
display of hardware, stoves, etc. 

L. I. Meyer & Co., Montoursville, one wagon, dry 
goods, overalls, etc. 

A. H. Heilman, furniture manufacturers, one float. 

Woolever Brothers, Montoursville, one wagon. 

Hayes, Pidcoe & Co., Montoursville, millers, three 
wagons, flour, feed, etc. 

Loyalsock Township float, with delegation of resi- 
dents. 

Seitzers & Schmahl's Rising Sun Dairy, one float 
with cow and calf, after which followed the dairy 
wagons of Messrs. Renninger, Kimble, Glosser, G., 
Haviland, William E. Heyde, P. Follmer; also those of 
the Eagle, Springdale, Enterprise and Pleasant Hollow 
dairy farms. 

Trump & Miller, of Montoursville, millers, one wagon 
loaded with flour and grain. 

The next float depicted a country scene of long ago, 
when farmers threshed their grain with flails, and after 
this came a float fashioned after the typical country 
blacksmith shop in full blast. 

Welker & Goodbrod's Star Brewery float carried 
an exhibit of this firm's celebrated brand of lager 
beer. The two remaining floats, both of which at- 
tracted considerable attention, portrayed the ancient 
mode of carding wool and shingle making. 



164 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

AT THE COURT HOUSE. 

At the hour assigned for the meeting in the court 
house the auditorium was filled with a large audience. 
President Beeber and the committee having charge of 
the exercises were on the stand. The Repasz band 
furnished excellent music as a prelude to the entertain- 
ment. Rev. T. S. Wilcox delivered an appropriate 
prayer, when President Beeber made a pleasing intro- 
ductory address, in which he alluded to our wonderful 
advancement during the century and paid a handsome 
tribute to the people of the county for what, they had 
accomplished. 

At the close of Mr. Beeber's address John G. Reading, 
Esq., read the Declaration of Independence, when the 
Gesang Verein Harmonia Society sang a few patriotic 
songs in handsome style. President Beeber then intro- 
duced C. LaRue Munson, Esq., who delivered the fol- 
lowing historical oration on the past of Lycoming 
County: 

HISTORICAL ORATION. 

Tinder the permission of a Divine Providence we 
are assembled to celebrate the completion of one hun- 
dred years of our county's history; to place upon Ly- 
coming's brow her centennial crown, and to mark the 
auspicious commencement of the second century of her 
existence. Backward, we glance over the record of 
her progress, years fraught with resplendent memo- 
ries of the past; forward we look into a future to be 
filled with achievements more glorious than have yet 
been accomplished. This is the day of our opportunity 
to do honor to those pioneers who laid Lycoming's foun- 
dations, remembering that, like them, when another 
centennial dawns upon her history, 

"We all within our graves shall sleep; 
No living soul for us shall weep." 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 165 

So now we place this mile-stone in the path of her 
mighty progress, showing to those who come after us 
that we are not unmindful of our duty, not lacking in 
that patriotism always so pre-eminent in the character 
of her citizens, nor wanting in that respect and honor 
so well the due of our ancient country. 

A hundred years is but a little thing in the illimitable 
arc of time, but for the American citizen of to-day the 
past century has covered a period so momentous in our 
Nation's progress that we note with wonder the mighty 
changes it has evolved. Rolling back the wheels of 
time and placing ourselves, for a moment, in the period 
of the year 1795, Lycoming's natal day, we are com- 
pelled to observe the great contrast with our country 
of the present. Our Nation was then but as a youth, its 
existence having been less than fourteen years; our 
independence had been recognized by the Treaty of 
Paris only twelve years; while our constitution, the 
noblest instrument ever written by the hand of man, 
the very bulwark of our liberties, had been ratified by 
the States of the Union but seven years earlier than our 
county's birth. In number the United States were but 
fifteen, all lying east of the Mississippi River, and cov- 
ering less than one-third of our present vast territory. 
The great Louisiana Purchase of 1803, obtained from 
Napoleon at a cost but trifling compared with its pres- 
ent enormous value, but sufficient to obtain munitions 
of war whereby he hoped to become the master of Eu- 
rope, the Texas Annexation of 1845, and the North- 
west and Mexican Cessions of 1846 and 1848, trebling 
our territory and so vastly increasing our wealth and 
importance as a Nation; — all these were in the womb of 
time when Lycoming County was erected, and were 
outside the dreams of the most sanguine American. 

21 



166 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The entire population of the United States was then 
but little more than four millions, and was almost en- 
tirely confined between the Alleghenies and the At- 
lantic, the most thickly settled portions being along 
the chief river courses and about commodious harbors. 
But five cities numbered a population exceeding ten 
thousand. There was then no Chicago, no St. Louis, 
no San Francisco, no Twin Cities of the North-west, 
none of the hundreds of cities, many of them now 
boasting an enumeration in the hundreds of thousands, 
and but few, and those widely scattered, of the thou- 
sands of prosperous villages now dotting our fair land 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and all included within 
the domain of a great Nation, the most powerful, the 
most progressive, and the most Divinely favored in all 
the wide world. 

In 1795 we were looked upon by the nations of the 
earth as but an experiment, and a doubtful one at that; 
our institutions of government were most novel, and 
our constitution almost untried, and wholly unproven; 
jealousies existed between the states, sectional feeling 
was most intense; we were far from being a homogen- 
eous people, and many of the wisest and best of our 
Nation's leaders trembled for the future, fearing, and 
with no little cause, that the Union of States was not 
cemented by bands certain to hold them together under 
all the changes which they foresaw must come upon 
our country. When Lycoming County was named, 
George Washington was President of the United States. 
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, 
and many other statesmen, were at the helm of the 
ship of state, and through their patriotism, and by the 
guidance of an overruling Providence, a foundation 
was being laid for a Union, which has proven one and 
indissoluble, permanent and continuing, and destined 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 167 

to remain while time itself shall last. Of these early 
leaders it has been well said that they were, 

"Men who their duties knew, 
But knew their rights, and, knowing, dared maintain; 
These were they who built the state." 

Not only in its political situation, but as well in its 
material advantages, our country was then vastly in- 
ferior to her present condition. At the close of the 
eighteenth century the mighty power of steam was 
but dimly known, and only crudely applied as a motive 
power; the railroad, the telegraph, the telephone, and 
the forces of electricity were in the future; manufac- 
tures and commerce, in our land, were in their very 
infancy, while agriculture, the chief occupation of the 
people, was pursued without any of the modern aids, 
and its products marketed, if at all, with great difficulty 
and meagre returns. In education the people were 
almost illiterate, the public school system being 
then unknown, and the newspapers, in number then 
less than three score in the whole land, being but in- 
significant and but little circulated. It is worthy of 
note, in this connection, that the Pennsylvania Grit, 
a well-known publication of Williamsport, now prints 
as many copies weekly as were then issued by all the 
newspapers in the whole land; more than 20,000 of them 
being sent west of the Mississippi River to regions then 
beyond the limits of the United States. With all the 
progress made by the American people during the past 
century our county has kept even pace, while her citi- 
zens have had their full share in the mighty evolution 
which has made this Nation all that it is, and much of 
what it will be in the centuries to come. 

The vast territory of the original county of Lycoming, 
twelve thousand square miles in extent, covering more 
than one-fourth of Pennsylvania, nearly equal in size 



168 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

to both Massachusetts and Connecticut, and including 
much more than the entire water-shed of the West 
Branch Valley, — a region now renowned for its natural 
wealth, its agriculture, manufactures and trade, for its 
charms of nature, the beauty of its daughters and the 
enterprise of its sons, — all this land less than three 
centuries ago was entirely unknown to the white man. 
It was covered with dense forests, watered by streams 
much larger than those of the present day, and was 
the home and hunting ground of a race now entirely 
extinct, and of whom but little is known. The Algon- 
quin tribes, of Andastes, Susquehannocks, Lenni- 
Lenapes and Monseys, were brave and warlike Indians 
who occupied the valleys of the North and West 
Branches of the Susquehanna Kiver from a time now 
lost in the mists of antiquity, but who left behind them 
mounds and fortifications evidencing their numbers, 
and so ancient that it is believed they were in existence 
hundreds of years ago. With these aborigines a war 
of extermination was waged by the famous Iroquois, 
or Six Nations, whose confederacy was so great, it is 
said by historians, that their domain, at one period, 
included all the territory east of the Mississippi. These 
conquerors, after a warfare of at least a century, ruled 
these valleys through their representatives, of whom 
the most famous was the wise and good vice-king, 
Shikellimy, noted for his humane treatment of the 
early settlers. 

The first white man to visit the West Branch was 
Etienne Brule, who came here in 1615 on behalf of 
Champlain, the French Governor of Canada, seeking 
the assistance of the Andastes tribe in his attacks on 
the Iroquois. On his return, Brule gave an interesting 
account of his journeys, describing, among other large 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 169 

Indian settlements, a palisade town of the Andastes of 
more than 4,000 souls, and situated in the valley of the 
Muncy Creek. More than a century elapsed before the 
feet of another white man trod this region, when Con- 
rad Weiser, an Indian trader, traveled through these 
valleys, in 1737, leaving a record of his experiences of 
thrilling interest. He was followed in 1742 by Count 
Zinzendorf, a Moravian missionary, who passed over 
the West Branch, accompanied by his daughter; cer- 
tainly the first white woman to explore this section. 
Thus the three great forces of civilization, — religion, 
trade and warfare, — were the pioneers here, as they 
have always been in every newly discovered land. 

While our section of the country was still unknown 
it passed by a purchase, claimed if not proven, to 
Thomas Dongan, Governor of the Province of New 
York, who maintained his title through a grant from 
the Six Nations. This he conveyed to William Penn, 
by a deed dated January 12, 1696, for the consideration 
of £100, a sum which to-day would purchase but a very 
small piece of that vast domain. This conveyance was 
confirmed to Penn by treaties with the Six Nations, 
concluded April 1, 1701, and June 7, 1737, and in- 
cluded a part of what is now Lycoming County. By 
another treaty, signed November 5, 1768, additional 
land was granted to the Penn Proprietaries, 
which, with that made October 23, 1784, at Fort 
Stanwix, now Rome, New York, completed the ac- 
quisition from the Indians of all the territory of Penn- 
sylvania. It should be the proud boast of every citi- 
zen of our Commonwealth, that all her domain was 
obtained by fair purchase from its original owners, 
and not by right of conquest. William Penn, as well 
as his successors, did not depend alone upon their 



170 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

grants from the English Crown, claiming title by dis- 
covery, but secured their lands by honorable treaty 
with those who had long owned and occupied them; 
unlike some settlers upon other portions of America's 
soil, of whose landing on the shores of the new land 
it has been so well said: 

"First they fell upon their knees, 

And then upon the aborigines." 

******* 
"And proved their religion orthodox 

By Apostolic blows and knocks." 

The fertile lands opened up for settlement by these 
purchases from the Indians, attracted emigration from 
all parts of the country. At the close of the war of the 
Revolution, in 1783, there was a decided movement 
towards this valley, and its population rapidly in- 
creased. The majority of the early settlers on the 
lower waters of the West Branch were from New Jer- 
sey, being largely composed of sturdy Scotch-Irish and 
thrifty Quakers. They were bold pioneers, and estab- 
lished themselves in their new home with a courage 
and determination needed to obtain a settlement in a 
country where they took their lives in their hands, and 
lived in constant fear from Indian depredations, and 
of attacks from wild beasts. Could such a census have 
been taken, it would not be a stretch of the imagination 
to suggest that these early settlers were largely out- 
numbered, both by Indians looking for their scalps, 
and by panthers and bears seeking their flesh for food. 
Time fails to tell of the many trials and tribulations 
of these brave pioneers; of the massacres they suffered 
at the hands of their cruel neighbors; of the loss of their 
crops and destruction of their homes; of the many 
dangers they were compelled to undergo, and of the 
distressing incidents of their daily life. They lived in 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 171 

a new land, far removed from civilization; they were 
without means of transportation; they lacked the ad- 
vantages of education, and were unblessed with the 
solace of religious services; but they were aresolute and 
courageous people, God-serving and industrious, and 
left behind them a record marking their high charac- 
ter, and evidencing a firm determination to bring a civ- 
ilization out of the wilderness, a free and enlightened 
government from barbarism, and to leave to those who 
should come after them prosperous and happy homes. 

No better illustration of the character of our early 
settlers can be found than the history of an event, but 
little known and unheralded by fame, which stands 
pre-eminent in the annals of the West Branch Valley, 
and well proves the patriotism and love of freedom 
which filled the hearts of the founders of fair Lycom- 
ing. We must not be unmindful that this day cele- 
brates, not only the centennial of our county, but, as 
well, the one hundred and nineteenth anniversary of 
that Declaration of Independence whose sound has 
gone out into all lands, and whose echoes will not 
cease to reverberate around the earth so long as men 
love liberty and seek to live under a government by 
the people, for the people and of the people. We 
turn, then, to another Declaration of Independence, 
happening on the same day with that more widely 
known, but proclaimed within the bounds of the 
county. On July 4, 1776, there assembled on the 
plains of Pine Creek, and not far from the present 
borough of Jersey Shore, a number of our early set- 
tlers, and, in convention met, after patriotic speeches 
appropriate to the subject, adopted formal resolutions 
absolving themselves from all allegiance to Great Bri- 
tain, and declaring that they were thenceforward a 



172 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

free and independent people. Distant more than two 
hundred miles from Philadelphia, where other Ameri- 
can citizens were making a similar declaration, and 
without possibility of any knowledge of what was then 
transpiring, beyond some information of a general 
movement of the Colonies in that direction, these brave 
forefathers of our county performed an act, as a coin- 
cidence, unparalleled in history; all the more noble that 
it was not within the sound of the applause of their 
fellow-citizens, nor likely to bring them fame and 
honor, but solely upon the broad ground of a love for 
liberty; taking this resolute step as men seeking that 
freedom which is of God, and, even in that far off 
region, as dear to their hearts as was life itself. 

These pioneers lived in a section then in dispute be- 
tween the white men and the Indians, the controversy 
being whether Lycoming or Pine Creek was the west- 
ern boundary of the purchase of 1768 — the Indians 
falsely contending for the former, and the whites 
claiming the latter as the true line. The Proprietary 
Government declined permission of legal settlement 
in this debated territory, and refused the protection 
of its laws over that section; hence it became a sort 
of "no-man's land," and those who did set- 
tle there were unaided in their defense 
against the attacks of the Indians, — more fre- 
quent and fierce by reason of the dispute over the 
land, — and were compelled to frame their own laws, 
which they did in the famous Fair Play System, as 
unique as it was just. Under this system, continuing 
until the treaty of 1784, all disputes were settled by 
commissioners, duly chosen by the settlers, under their 
code, which seems to have been entirely equitable, al- 
though its precise terms are now unknown. These de- 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 173 

cisions were final, both in civil and criminal cases, and 
were enforced, if necessary, by putting the unruly 
member in a canoe, rowing him to the mouth of Ly- 
coming Creek, and there sending him adrift down the 
river. The historians of the West Branch, illustrating 
the workings of the Fair Play System, delight to tell 
of the answer of a witness to a question propounded 
by Chief Justice McKean, some years later, inquiring 
as to the customs of the earlier code: "All I can say 
is," said the witness, "that since your Honor's courts 
have come among us, fair play has entirely ceased, 
and law has taken its place." 

Of the mother of Lycoming, old Northumberland, 
another has given us an eloquent and learned account 
during this our centennial week. For twenty-three 
years after her organization, in 1772, the inhabitants 
of the West Branch Valley transacted their business 
at her county seat at Sunbury. So long as the north- 
ward population remained so small but little incon- 
venience was felt, and no efforts were made for a 
change; but with the growth incident to the emigra- 
tion after the war of the Revolution the settlers of the 
upper valleys began to feel the need of a new county. 
To reach Sunbury the large streams of Pine, Lycoming, 
Loyalsock and Muncy Creeks, as well as the river at 
Northumberland, must be crossed, and as there were 
no bridges and the streams were often swollen, much 
difficulty and danger were experienced. So, as early as 
1786, an attempt was made to organize a new county 
west of the Muncy Hills, but met with much opposition 
from the people of Sunbury, whose county was the larg- 
est in the Commonwealth, and who desired to maintain 
its territory and prestige. In addition to this local 
antagonism, strenuous efforts against the new county 

22 



174 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

were made, although secretly, by Robert Morris, the 
famous financier of the Revolution, and by other great 
land owners. The cause for this opposition does not 
clearly appear, but it is certain that it existed, and 
so long as these opponents prospered the scheme for 
the new county languished; but when they failed, and 
lost their influence, it became successful. The move- 
ment for a new county was delayed, for a time, by an 
effort to remove the county seat of Northumberland 
to a more western and central location; but, on the 
defeat of that attempt, was again revived, until, at 
every session of the Legislature during a number of 
years, petitions for the new county were presented 
and urgently moved to a successful issue. The num- 
ber of the petitioners had grown from very few until, 
later, they numbered nearly a thousand, and included 
every settler between the Muncy Hills and the Bald 
Eagle Valley. A greater impetus was given the move- 
ment in the election of the Honorable William Hep- 
burn as a State Senator, in 1794. Judge Hepburn 
was a distinguished citizen of the West Branch Valley, 
and, owning considerable property within the limits 
of what is now William sport, recognized the need of 
a new county and was active in the efforts made to 
obtain the division. Soon after taking his seat in the 
Senate he was made chairman of a special committee 
to bring in a bill to divide Northumberland County. 
On March 7, 1795, the Act was introduced, and was 
finally passed and approved April 13th. There was 
much discussion as to a name for the new county — 
Jefferson, Muncy and Susquehanna each having its 
adherents — but the title was finally given it, taken 
from Lycoming Creek, a corruption of the Indian words 
Legane-hanne, signifying a sandy stream. 



ADDEESS BY MR. MUNSON. 175 

The territory of the original Lycoming County was 
greater than that of seven of the states of the Union, 
extended as far west as the present Kittanning, and 
included all that portion of Pennsylvania lying west 
of the North Branch, bounded by the water-shed of 
the West Branch and much of that of the Allegheny 
and Clarion rivers. More than two-thirds of this spa- 
cious region was then an unexplored and unknown 
wilderness. There were but few roads, and those only 
in the eastern end of the county, and no bridges over 
its many and, at times, turbulent streams. The popu- 
lation was about 4,100, nearly all being east of the 
present Lock Haven. There was but little improved 
land, and but few dwellings, and those chiefly the rude 
cabins of the pioneers, while dark forests covered al- 
most its entire surface, through which lurked the sav- 
age Indian and the ferocious wild beast. 

We cannot but pause to contemplate the wondrous 
changes made in this vast region during the past cen- 
tury. From its forests have been taken timber valued 
in hundreds of millions of dollars, and entering into 
the construction of thousands of buildings in this and 
other sections of the country. Two great oil fields, — 
those of the Clarion liiver and of McKean County, — 
have spouted forth untold wealth; while from the 
bowels of the earth have been raised millions of tons 
of bituminous coal, furnishing motive power in a large 
section of the United States, and speeding many a 
mighty steamship over the bosom of the deep. Highly 
cultivated lands are to be seen in all its portions, pros- 
perous cities and boroughs dot the landscape; rail- 
roads cross its face in every direction, great and fa- 
mous manufactories are found in all its parts, and in 
every section of its territory dwell a people, God-fear- 



176 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

ing, highly enlightened and cultured; while education's 
benign influence, and the highest civilization and re- 
finement abound on all sides. From its mighty area 
eighteen other counties have been formed, in part or 
in whole; its meagre population of 4,000 has swollen to 
more than 600,000; its seven townships have increased 
to 400 election districts; from one little village of a 
handful of souls have grown three beautiful cities and 
77 boroughs, of nearly two hundred thousand people; 
and from an assessment of but a few thousands it has 
advanced to a valuation equal to the wealth of a king- 
dom. Could we but bring back old Shikellemy, that 
great and good Indian, and place him upon our highest 
mountain, how eloquently could he utter the beautiful 
lines of the poet: 

"Look now abroad — another race has filled; 
These populous borders — wide the wood recedes, 
And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are tilled; 
New colonies forth, that toward the western seas 
Spread like a rapid flame among the autumnal trees." 

Returning to the early days and taking up the thread 
of our historical review, to be confined to that portion 
of the original territory included within the present 
county of Lycoming, we find the first matter of im- 
portance appealing to the attention of our early citi- 
zens was the location of the county seat. For this 
honor there was a fierce struggle, three embryonic vil- 
lages contending for the prize. The most confident 
of winning was Jaysburg, a little settlement now for- 
gotten and long since swallowed up in Williamsport. 
There temporary quarters had been established for the 
court and its officials, and it was hoped that the selec- 
tion would be made permanent. Dunnstown was en- 
tered for the race by its sole proprietor and inhabitant, 
who had set apart land for the public buildings. But 



ADDRESS BY£MR. MUNSON. 177 

William Hepburn, through whose active efforts the 
new county had been secured, joined by Michael Ross, 
the owner of the site of the original Williamsport, pre- 
sented the claims of that place as being the proper 
location. Their rivals contended that Williamsport 
was but a swamp and subject to inundations, — asper- 
sions we would have joined with its champions in 
maintaining were vile slanders, — and went so far 
as to assert that it existed only on paper, and could 
not be dignified by even the name of a village 
The battle for the location grew more fierce, 
until the Jaysburgers sent a messenger to the Com- 
missioners armed with affidavits against Williams- 
port's qualifications. That the message was never de- 
livered is not denied, but the exact manner of its loss 
is hid in the mists of obscurity. Whether the mes- 
senger fainted by the way, was delayed by a visit to 
an ancient inn, or floundered in a swamp, cannot now 
be told; but it is certain that the Hepburn-Ross party 
won, and that in this, as since then in all else, Wil- 
liamsport came out first best. For some years the 
court migrated from tavern to tavern for its sessions, 
while its offices were still more uncertain, being some- 
times in Jaysburg, sometimes elsewhere, and often in 
the pockets of its only official, the eccentric John Kidd. 
in process of time proper buildings for the county's 
use were erected, which have been succeeded by others 
still more costly and more suitable to its needs and 
importance. 

Time fails us to review the growth of our county 
from its small beginnings. All this has been well set 
forth by our learned townsman and renowned histor- 
ian, Mr. John F. Meginness, in his exhaustive History 
of the West Branch Valley, the History of Lycoming 



178 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

County, and his various other valuable works. It is 
a great pleasure to refer to these labors of love of our 
distinguished citizen. He has written with the pen 
of a ready writer, and with evidences of patient study 
and thorough investigation. We have failed to ap- 
preciate the labor of Mr. Meginness in thus preserving 
the records of the past; but, when all of us shall be for- 
gotten, his works will remain, and future generations 
will honor his name as of one who, without hope of 
pecuniary reward, gave his time and means to the 
perpetuation of the history of the early settlers of these 
valleys, and of the records of this section of our Com- 
monwealth. 

Not only is this the anniversary of our county, but 
it is also the centennial of Williamsport, and of the 
history and growth of our fair city some mention is 
due. The origin of its name has not been undisputed. 
By some it is accorded to William, the elder son of 
Michael Ross; others have claimed it for Joseph Wil- 
liams, an early surveyor, who was engaged by Ross 
to lay out the new town; but the stronger evidence 
and the most trustworthy traditions ascribe the honor 
to William Hepburn, — certainly the most prominent 
of the first settlers, and, by reason of his active efforts 
in securing the new county, entitled to name its county 
seat. He was the first judge of its courts and a man 
of wealth and influence, and when, in recognition of 
his services, the citizens proposed to call the town 
Hepburn's Port, he modestly objected and suggested 
Williamsport, which was finally adopted. It was at 
first a very small village, and had not increased beyond 
a population of 131 at the beginning of this century, 
and but very little more when it was incorporated as 
a borough, in 1806. The first house in Williamsport 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 179 

was the Russell Inn, at the corner of Third and Mul- 
berry streets, erected in 1796, and destroyed in the 
great fire of 1871. The oldest building, now stand- 
ing, is the brick dwelling, formerly the mansion 
house of the Hon. William Hepburn, erected in 
1801 at what is now the foot of Park Street. The 
growth of the borough was very slow, for, as late as 
1829, there were but 150 dwellings within its limits, 
besides eight stores and eight taverns. This equality 
between the number of its places of business and of 
liquid refreshments is a curious commentary upon 
those early days. Fortunately, for the temperance 
cause, this proportion has not been continued in more 
modern days. 

Williamsport, like other similarly favored places in 
the state, was materially assisted by the advent of the 
canal, opened here in 1833. One of the chief difficul- 
ties suffered by the early inhabitants was the want of 
proper means of transportation, affording facilities in 
marketing their products. The first roads were of the 
crudest, character, and as the streams were without 
bridges, the movement of freight was very difficult 
and costly. Prior to the opening of the public water- 
ways the river was used for floating arks laden with 
grain, flour and other products of the valley, but as 
their use largely depended upon the stage of the water, 
and they were often subject to shipwreck, but little 
could be accomplished. As an illustration of the 
means of transportation, and its cost, in the early 
part of the century, it is stated that in 1817 more 
than 12,000 wagons crossed the Alleghenies, each car- 
rying about two tons of merchandise, from Philadel- 
phia and Baltimore to Pittsburg, and at a cost of $140 
per ton. Now, in a single day, the Pennsylvania Kail- 



180 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

road carries more than all that tonnage between those 
points, and at a cost of about one-sixtieth the former 
expense. 

The first railroad in our county was the old strap 
road, between Williamsport and Ralston, opened in 
1837, and still remembered by our older citizens. This 
subsequently became a part of the Northern Central 
Railway, followed, in 1855, by the present Philadelphia 
and Erie, by the Philadelphia and Reading, in 1871, 
the Beech Creek and Pine Creek, in 1883, and by the 
Williamsport and North Branch, and the Central Penn- 
sylvania and Western, still more recently; thus giving 
us most excellent railroad facilities over rival routes 
of transportation, and opening our manufactories and 
the products of our forests and mines to all the markets 
of the country. 

But that which has made Williamsport most famous, 
bringing her great wealth and enormously increasing 
her population, is the manufacture of lumber and its 
kindred products, a trade which has here long since 
attained vast proportions. The first saw mill of any 
importance was erected in 1838, known as the Big 
Water Mill, which, in 1846, became the property of 
the late Maj. James H. Perkins, one of Williamsport's 
most honored citizens, and, through his early labors 
as a pioneer in the lumber trade, the admitted father 
of that industry in our city. Through his enterprise 
the first boom was placed in the river to catch the 
floating logs, and was followed by the erection of many 
great mills, leading to the development of the manu- 
facture of lumber and, through it, to the prodigious 
growth of Williamsport. The charter for the Susque- 
hanna Boom was secured in 1846, its construction be- 
ing completed five years later, and from that time dates 



ADDRESS BY MR. MUNSON. 181 

our commercial prosperity. So great did the lumber 
industry become that at one time we were the leading 
market for that product in the whole country, reaching 
an output in 1873, the high-water mark of the trade, 
of nearly 320,000,000 feet. Exact figures are not at 
hand, but it is not an overestimate to say that since 
the boom was bnilt 10,000 millions of feot of logs have 
been rafted out and manufactured into their products, 
furnishing employment to thousands of men and 
bringing to our city millions of dollars. 

We would be derelict in our duty if we did not refer 
to another of our citizens, now gone to his rest, whose 
untiring efforts and wonderful energy did so much to 
build up Williamsport, and to advance her prosperity 
and enlarge her population. No public shaft is irraven 
with a record of his deeds, but in the valley, below 
the beautiful Wildwood where he sleeps, there lies a 
fair city which, in no small degree, is a monument to 
his enterprise more noble and lasting than could be 
any of granite or marble. Time heals all wounds, and 
cures all ill feelings, and the day will come when, hon- 
oring themselves as well, our enterprising citizens 
will erect a stately shaft on which will be inscribed, 
"To the memory of one who found Williamsport a vil- 
lage, and made it a beautiful city — Peter Herdic." 

Turn we now to a future of our county and city 
more glorious than has been their past. We lift the 
veil from what shall be the second centennial of our 
dear old county. We see a greater Williamsport, 
crossing the river and stretching over all the beautiful 
hills on both its shores — shores securely defended from 
the river's mighty risings; we see its streets filled with 
a quarter of a million of inhabitants, on every side mag- 
nificent public buildings and beautiful private resi- 

23 



182 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

dences; we see a people favored of God and respected 
of man, citizens of a still more glorious nation, and 
enjoying advantages of which man has never yet 
dreamed. We see a county second to none other in 
the prosperity of its eitzens, five hundred thousand 
people calling it their home, and many more looking 
up to it as a dear old mother, toward which they turn 
their hearts and faces at that her second centennial, 
even of greater success than crowns our efforts to-day. 

"O fair Lycoming! On thy brow 
Shall rest a nobler grace than now. 
Deep in the brightness of thy skies 
The thronging years in glory rise, 

And, as they fleet, 
Drop strength and riches at thy feet." 

At the conclusion of Mr. Munson's oration, President 
Beeber introduced Charles K. Geddes, Esq., who read 
the following: 

CENTENNIAL ODE. 

When the years of our Union were seven, 

With Liberty still in her 'teens, 
And our ruler, by favor of heaven. 

Was the chief by whose matchless means 
Independence was won for our nation: 

In seventeen ninety and five, 
Pennsylvania gave birth, with elation, 

To a child predestined to thrive. 

And she called this young damsel, "Lycoming," 

Prom her creek with an Indian name; 
And she gave her a dowry becoming 

The child of so wealthy a dame. 
For the land she bestowed on her daughter 

Was ten thousand square miles at least, 
With abundance of wood and of water, 

And of food both for man and beast. 

In its bosom, for ages preparing, 

Lay treasures for quarry and mine; 
While its valleys and mountains were bearing 

Rich harvests of hardwood and pine: 



CENTENNIAL ODE. 183 

Through the midst flowed the broad Susquehanna, 

Bringing- gifts from a thousand brooks 
That rejoiced in each sunlit savanna, 

Or wept in the shadowy nooks. 

But this .princely domain was deficient 

In tenants its wealth to unfold; 
And a few river hamlets sufficient 

To serve all its people twice-told. 
There they dwelt in log cabins, erected 

In clearings their axes had made; 
And they thought themselves amply protected 

Here and there by a rude stockade. 

All about them ihe forest extended: — 

A wilderness, pathless, immense, 
Where the lights and the shadows were blended, 

In solitudes sombre and dense. 
From these solitudes, fearfully haunted 

By cunning and merciless foes, 
Issued shapes whose fierce mien might have daunted 

E'en the boldest at evening's close. 

There the panther was stealthily prowling, 

To spring on his victim at sight; 
And the wolf, with demoniac howling, 

Oft startled the silence of night: 
There the savage in ambush lay waiting, 

More cruel than either in wrath, 
With a blood-thirst that never knew sating, 

While the pale-face lived in his path. 

But the settlers, though few, were stout-hearted, 

Nor by fears nor hardships dismayed: 
They had counted the cost ere they started 

To conquer the land they surveyed; 
And, though sorely beset, yet undaunted, 

They fought, and they vanquished their foes; 
And they cleared, and they built, and they planted, 

Till the deserts bloomed as the rose. 

Now the herds unmolested are feeding 

Where the panther once lurked by day; 
And the flocks sleep secure and unheeding, 

Where the wolf then hunted his prey: 
Where the log cabin stood, stands the mansion: 

The church has displaced the stockade; 
And the school, by the force of expansion, 

Has demolished the ambuscade. 



184 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Where the savage his war-whoop was yelling, 

Now the steam-driven train is heard, 
As it roars through the valleys, excelling 

The speed of the terrified bird: 
Where the forests, the sunlight impeding, 

Turned the day into partial night; 
Now the night, turned to day, is receding 

In the glare of electric light. 

In the halls of our state legislation, 

And in its executive chair; 
In affairs of the state and the nation, 

Lycoming has had her full share: 
In religion, in law, and in science, 

Her children have acted their part, 
And won honor by steadfast appliance 

Of means to their ends with the heart. 

When our land was in imminent danger, 

And the air was ringing with strife, 
And her children, instead of the stranger, 

Were the foes that menaced her life; 
Then arose in their might to befriend her, 

The loyal, the brave, and the true; 
And they swore with their lives to defend her 

Prom all that rebellion could do: 

That the country our fathers had wrested 

From a tyrant's control for us, 
And the freedom their children had tested, 

Must never be hazarded thus: 
That our Union should never be broken 

By secession of North or South: 
Let the mandate, if need be, be spoken 

By the cannon's thundering mouth. 

Then from prairie, and mountain, and valley, 

'Freemen answered their country's call, 
And in millions they hastened to rally 

To her rescue from treason's thrall. 
Then they poured out their blood and their treasure, 

And their prayers, and their bitter tears, 
Till they filled to the brim the full measure 

Of the slave's unpaid scores of years. 

In. the midst of the armies contending 
For Freedom's or Slavery's bound, 

With their life-blood our Union defending, 
The sons of Lycoming were found. 



CENTENNIAL ODE. 185 

And we won; and our soldiers returning 

Brought the joy they had fought to gain: 
While, for those who came not, there was mourning: — 

And our joy was mingled with pain. 

But war's dark clouds had their silver lining, 

Which we saw as they rolled away, 
And the Sun of Reunion, full shining, 

Blest us all with a brighter day: 
And the world saw that glory amazing 

Gild our purified flag and shield: 
Every stripe distinct: — every star blazing: — 

Not a slave to darken the field. 

Then our country soon felt the revival 

Of business from pressure relieved; 
And in peace, as in war, had no rival, 

When peace her successes achieved. 
And Lycoming, fresh vigor acquiring, 

Pressed forward with quickening pace, 
And, though still to more honors aspiring, 

Already has won a high place. 

What a wondrous advance in the county 

Has been wrought in a hundred years, 
Though she gave of her mother's rich bounty 

To aid younger sisters' careers. 
And, although to eighteen she has deeded 

Their estates, in whole or in part, 
At the close, she has largely exceeded 

Her people and wealth at the start. 

From the forests, by help of our river, 

We brought logs to our busy mills; 
And, by skillful and patient endeavor, 

Reaped the harvests grown on our hills. 
Then our progress was rapid, but healthy, 

Beyond the most fanciful dream, 
And our city and county grew wealthy, 

By means of our bountiful stream. 

Flow on proudly, thou bright Susquehanna! 

No inferior rank is thine; 
For, with mountain, and vale, and savanna, 
i Thou might'st vie with the far-famed Rhine. 
It is true that no castles are crowning 

Thy hills with their battlements gray: 
O'er thy waters no ruins are frowning 

That tell of baronial sway: 



186 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Yet thy banks with traditions are teeming 

Of a race that no thraldom knew: 
Like thy waves from their campfires' faint gleaming, 

They have passed into darkness too. 
But for more than these legends we love thee, 

Though thrilling they ever must be, 
For 'tis still freedom's sky that's above thee; 

Thy shores still the homes of the free. 

Thou hast been, to our city and county, 

A generous friend in the past: 
Thou enrichest us still with thy bounty, 

And wilt, if we're wise, to the last: 
Yet, when angry, if aught dare oppose thee, 

Thou laughest resistance to scorn; 
For, though old as the hills that enclose thee, 

Thou gainest fresh strength every morn. 

'Mid the wilds of the cloud-loving mountain 

Thy birthday is daily reviewed: 
At thy source is the youth-giving fountain, 

Where thine is each moment renewed. 
Here's a health to thee, beautiful river, 

In a draught from, Helicon's streams: 
May thy shores grow in beauty forever, 

Till they're fairer than Love's first dreams. 

And let mountain, and valley, and river, 

And man, join in anthems of praise 
To the God of our fathers, the Giver 
Of all that has prospered our ways. 
"He has made and preserved us a nation;" 
And His goodness has made us great: 
May He guard, to the last generation, 
Our Country, our County, our State. 

—CHARLES K. GEDDES. 

Hon. Emerson Collins followed the reading of the 
Ode with the following eloquent address: 

APOSTROPHE TO OUR PROGRESS. 

We have this day witnessed the culmination of an 
event that will never fade from the annals of our 
county. We have all been participants or spectators 
on similar occasions held in commemoration of some 
landmark in the history of state or nation. To-day 



ADDRESS BY MR, COLLINS. 187 

we have crowned a culminating series of memorial 
services celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of 
the organization of this civil division known as Lycom- 
ing County. The American people have been passing 
through a most remarkable and, in some respects, 
unique season of centenary celebrations. The last 
quarter of a century has been eventful with the ob- 
servance of anniversaries of great days in the life of 
nation, state, city or county. That luminous and never- 
fading epoch of deeds and days of the Revolutionary 
era, ending in acknowledged and since unbroken 
independence of our land, has been fitly celebrated 
by a grateful posterity, enjoying the blessings of civil 
liberty. The establishment of the Federal Union upon 
the unshaken rock of the National Constitution and the 
successful inauguration of the first administration 
thereunder have been duly observed. It is indeed a 
characteristic spirit of this generation to revere and 
recall the great landmarks of the past, to dwell upon 
the trials of the founding, thereby to add triumph to the 
results thereof. Tt is a significant and hopeful phe- 
nomenon. A people once dulled to the glories of the 
by-gone times, in whom there thrills no feeling of exul- 
tation in the contemplation of the growth of their in- 
dustrial interests and institutions, in whom there has 
ceased to pulsate a reverence for the heroes who laid 
the foundations upon which the splendid superstruc- 
ture has been reared, is a people already afflicted with 
the dry rot of decay. A due respect, regard and ad- 
miration for the past are among the sure harbingers 
and steady inspirations for stronger effort and nobler 
achievement in the future. It is well, then, that 
the patriotic citizens of Lycoming, joined by the no less 
patriotic citizens of the daughter counties, should by 



188 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

civic and military demonstration, by stately parade, 
by speech and by song, by a display of the arts and 
products of the present and by a collection and exhi- 
bition with tender care of the cherished relics and me- 
mentoes that have come down to us from the classic 
days of old, seek to do honor and reverence and fitting 
justice to the founding and organization of this noble 
county of ours. 

I am glad, too, that this time has been chosen for 
this centennial. Our pride and rejoicing in our county's 
growth and greatness can on this day swell the pride 
and rejoicing we feel in the growth and greatness of 
our whole common country. What people in all the 
sweep of the ages have been so abundantly justified in 
making holiday or any national day as the American 
people? Our occasion for thanksgiving and jubilation 
measured by any standard, is well-nigh boundless. Un- 
der the aegis of constitutional liberty our development 
has outrun all precedent, and outmatched all com- 
petitors. Mulhall, the great English statistician, 
in a recent number of a leading periodical demon- 
strates that our wealth and material position are 
unequaled, and that the physical and intellect- 
ual force of the United States at this hour sur- 
passes that of any other nation, ancient or modern. 
But America is not only great in those matters suscep- 
tible of being marshaled in the cold columns of the 
statistician's tables. She is supremely great as well 
in all the commanding qualities which go to make a 
state. She has not only reared mighty cities, re- 
claimed vast wildernesses to the uses of human habita- 
tion and enjoyment, spread civilization throughout a 
continent, but she has developed those graces, virtues 
and qualities in her sons and daughters that are every- 



ADDRESS BY MR. COLLINS. 189 

where held honorable among men. Commercial sor- 
didness and calculating materialism have not crushed 
patriotism; throughout all the upbuilding of our in- 
dustrial empire the spirit of enlightened philan- 
throphy has held its enabling sway. America is 
not only great in her farms and factories, in 
her cities and highways of steel, but she is great 
in her civil and religious institutions, great in her edu- 
cational establishments, great in her charities, great in 
her heroes, great in her history, ennobled with 
lofty deeds and redolent with freedom and great 
in that dominating, imperial, patriotic, humane spirit 
that pervades the millions gathered beneath her em- 
blem. And that spirit will survive:. These mighty 
evidences of industrial greatness that cover the lands 
may crumble and our throbbing cities become ivy- 
mantled ruins, yet that spirit that nerved the ragged 
sentinel at Valley Forge as he kept watch for liberty, 
that gathered the thirteen feeble and jealous states 
into one indissoluble Union, that trod the slippery deck 
of Old Ironsides, and in the flash of her broadsides made 
the flag the protector of what it covered, that declared 
that the Father of Waters from source to Gulf must 
run through a land acknowledging but one sover- 
eignty, that pushed our frontier from the Alleghe- 
nies across the Mississippi and over the Rockies to the 
Golden Gate opening to the wealth of the Orient, that 
from '61-'65 put two millions of men under arms and 
filled three hundred thousand martyr graves for a 
Union whose perpetuity meant a continental peace, and 
in and through it all made good the solemn promise of 
the declaration that governments derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed, is a spirit 
that from these western shores has been spreading 

24 



190 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

lo these hundred years, throughout the earth and will 
never die. 

America is great in individuals as in mass. What 
nation has given the world a more radiant galaxy of 
rulers or chief magistrates than Washington, Jeffer- 
son, Jackson and Lincoln! statesmen of profounder 
thought than Hamilton and Webster; a jurist whose 
luminous decisions have more surely lighted the path- 
way of national life than John Marshall; soldiers who 
have served the just purpose of their calling with more 
unselfish devotion than Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, 
Meade, Thomas and Hancock; inventors who have 
lifted and lightened the burden of labor or annihilated 
space with more subtle genius than Fulton, Whitney, 
Morse, McCormick, Howe and Edison; divines, teach- 
ers, reformers and philanthropists who have more rich- 
ly contributed in this century of light and knowledge 
to emancipate man from the thraldom of superstition, 
ignorance and wrong, and let in the inspiring sunshine 
of truth and right, than a score of giant figures 
who have adorned the American pulpit, rostrum, 
university and editorial chair? Upon what battle- 
field of the world has deathless heroism shone 
with a steadier lustre than on the fields made immortal 
by American valor from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg, 
from Yorktown to Appomattox? 

This dual characteristic of the American people, com- 
bining such pre-eminent capacity for industrial devel- 
opment with such splendid impulses of patriotism and 
enlightened philanthropy, is often overlooked. It is 
upon a national scale akin to that individual industry 
coupled with intense love of home that makes the 
strong citizen. In the brief space of a century we have 
subdued an area, continental in extent, to the uses of 



ADDRESS BY MR. COLLINS. 191 

man, have created a volume of wealth vaster than that 
ever accumulated by any other people, have so diversi- 
fied industry, multiplied invention and spread the 
opportunity for education as to bring the higher com- 
forts of life within the reach of every fireside and make 
happiness the common birthright of all and not solely 
the inherited privilege of the titled few. Labor has 
been ennobled. The millions are enrolled in the mighty 
army of industrialism and instinct with activity and 
progress. Nature has been harnessed to serve the 
race. The products of our handicrafts, fields and mines 
crowd the marts of the world. But in the midst of this 
press and throb of industry reverence for the sacred 
names and eras of our history has not lost its force. 
Faith abides unshaken in a government of, by and for 
the people, securing to every individual the rewards 
of his own industry and thrift won in fair, open com- 
petition in the battle of life. 

To-day, standing as we do on the threshold of a new 
century for our county, we can rejoice in the fact that 
Lycoming has done her part and contributed her full 
ratio in the grand total of our Republic's matchless 
growth. She has not fallen behind in the race. Her 
growth in population in its increase of more than 
twenty-fold has been commensurate with the general 
growth. In wealth and all that makes a community 
happy, respected, progressive and prosperous she has 
kept step with the pace and march of the nation. Her 
citizens have been called to high places in the service of 
state and nation. In every crisis her sons have gone 
forth to battle for the principles and preservation of 
our government. Dauiel Webster in that eloquent 
apostrophe to Massachusetts proclaimed that the bones 
of her sons fallen in the cause of freedom lay scattered 



192 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

from New England to Georgia. So we can boast that 
the graves of Lycoming's soldiers who dedicated their 
lives to the cause of Independence, national honor and 
the perpetuity of the Union are found from Canada to 
the Gulf. She has not only given her sons to stand in 
the "ranks of battle's magnificently stern array," but 
they have gone forth from her hills and valleys to help 
conquer in other places the resources of nature and 
subdue them to the service of humanity. Natives or 
descendants of natives of old Lycoming reside in all 
those thriving commonwealths which from Pennsyl- 
vania's border stretch westward to the Pacific. They 
have added their toil, their craft, their heart, their 
brain, their manhood and womanhood to the gigantic 
task which has made the uncultivated western wilder- 
ness and plains of the recent past the seat of opulent 
and populous states. And yet, with all her generous 
contributions of men and treasure in every just cause 
of peace or war, she rejoices to-day in her own present 
strength and prosperity, in her fertile acres and busy 
factories, in the happiness, well-being and intelligence 
of her citizens. 

My fellow citizens, when we contemplate the benefi- 
cient results that have attended the establishment of 
this government, founded upon the sovereignty of the 
people, when we contemplate the stability of and secur- 
ity afforded by that government — its regard for every 
right, and its conservation of every just interest to a 
degree unknown in other lands of any time, let us 
firmly resolve to resist hasty innovations and hazard- 
ous experiments. Let us hold fast to the sacred herit- 
age transmitted to us, which has yielded results so 
bountiful, and pass it onward in unsullied glory and 
integrity. Let our progressiveness be unmixed with 



CLOSING EXERCISES. 193 

iconoclasm. Let us in future, as in the past, tena- 
ciously and conservatively cling to the tried and the 
known until abundantly and soberly convinced that 
change in our government or social structure 
means improvement. It is well to thus celebrate 
our county's organization and make holiday on this, 
the natal day of Independence; but let us not forget 
that we best honor and revere the brave and saga- 
cious men who laid the broad foundations of our great- 
ness when we take up the great work which they so 
nobly began or gloriously advanced and do in our day 
and generation that which will continue to make this 
land, under the newer conditions and varying changes 
that relentless time ever brings, all that their devotion 
and heroism so richly deserved. 

THE CLOSE. 

The meeting closed with another song by the Har- 
monia Society and the benediction by the Kev. W. F. 
Rick. 

The last balloon ascension and parachute leap by 
Prof. Frank Kepner, at the old fair grounds, was wit- 
nessed by fully eight thousand people, who crowded 
the hillsides and the fields of Vallamont to gaze on the 
novel spectacle. Like the previous ascensions it was 
a success, only the aeronaut started fifteen minutes be- 
fore the advertised time, which caused many people to 
miss the beginning of the exhibition. 

The ascension of the second day (Wednesday) almost 
resulted in the death of the aeronaut. The assembled 
thousands watched him gracefully sail upwards with 
his parachute attached to the balloon — saw him suc- 
cessfully start to descend, but when he neared the 
ground, above Rural Avenue, he was unable to make the 



194 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

street, because his parachute caught on a chimney and 
hurled him against the roof, bruising him badly. He 
slid over the eaves of the roof, breaking as he fell, the 
eave trough, and hung in this dangerous position a 
minute or two, when a man reached out from the sec- 
ond story window and rescued him. 

During the evening the display of lire-works was 
witnessed by fully twenty-five thousand people, who 
spread out in a great mass over the fields and on the 
hill-tops. The display, while small in variety, was very 
good, and the spectators were generally well pleased. 
The set pieces, "1795 — Lycoming County Centennial — 
1895," and the "Water Fall," were good, and called 
forth loud shouts of approbation. 

Pain's exhibition of the fall of Herculaneum, which 
was given during the week, was an additional attrac- 
tion, and caused many to visit the city who might not 
otherwise have come. On the occasion of the last ex- 
hibition of fire-works this great entertainment did not 
open until they were over, which enabled those who 
wished to see and enjoy both. With the parades, bal- 
loon ascensions, parachute descents, fire-works, the ex- 
hibition of the destruction of Herculaneum, and the 
wonderful display of curios in Antiquarian Hall, those 
who loved novelty, variety and excitement had all they 
could desire, and the immense number of people who 
viewed these attractions from day to day showed 
that the management had succeeded in formulating 
and carrying out a program that was satisfactory to 
the populace. And those who had the good fortune 
to see these varied attractions as they passed before 
their mental vision like the ever changing scenes of 
an immense kaleidoscope, will not soon forget them. 
The fete days of the Lycoming County Centennial made 



CLOSING EXERCISES. 195 

an impression on the minds of the people that will not 
fade as long as memory lasts, for they closed in a blaze 
of glory so resplendent as to almost dazzle the vision 
and bewilder the senses. 



196 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEE. 

Organization of the Ladies' Auxiliary and What it 
Accomplished. 



The Antiquarian Committee, which was entrusted 
with the responsible work of organizing and directing 
the various committees engaged in the collection and 
arrangement of articles for exhibition in Centennial 
Hall, was constituted as follows: 

W. W. Champion, Chairman. 

J. H. McMinn, Williamsport. 

W. Coleman Hall, Hartley Hall. 

Charles H. Eldon, Williamsport. 
A- H- Heilman, Williamsport. 
J. M. M. Cernerd, Muncy. 

Abraham Meyer, Cog-an House. 

August Koch, South Williamsport. 

Prank Trump, Jersey Shore. 

The work of preparation was arduous and perplex- 
ing. After an organization had been effected by the 
committee, and the ladies got fairly to work, exhibits 
poured in from every direction, and the number offered 
became so great that had the building been twice its 
size it could have been filled, so eager were the people 
to exhibit their relics, heirlooms and precious memo- 
rials of their ancestors. On account of a lack of space, 
therefore, all the articles offered could not be displayed 
as the chairman desired, and he was forced to refuse 
many interesting exhibits on account of the avalanche 
that was hurled upon him. Hundreds of fine speci- 
mens were not unpacked because there was no room 
to display them. 

As it was, no larger or finer exhibit was ever made 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 197 

in the state outside of Philadelphia, and those who 
were qualified to judge of the merits of the exhibition 
were amazed and bewildered at the variety and value 
of what had been collected, and could scarcely realize 
that this section of the state was so rich in antiquities. 

After preliminary organization the credit for mak- 
ing the exhibition such an overwhelming success belongs 
largely to the ladies; for before they became fairly in- 
terested and identified with the movement the work 
did not progress with that rapidity which was desired, 
and there were many who almost despaired of success. 
Realizing the necessity of taking part in the movement, 
and of making a combined effort, Mrs. C. LaRue Mun- 
son called a meeting of ladies at her residence on May 
2d, for the purpose of considering how they could best 
aid the enterprise. Messrs. Parsons, Munson and Chair- 
man Champion were present and made addresses 
which did much to arouse the enthusiasm of the ladies 
present. 

The result of the meeting was the organization of a 
Ladies' Auxiliary Committee and the selection of Mrs. 
Munson as chairman. From this time on there was 
no balk or delay in the work, and it soon became ap- 
parent that success was assured. Mrs. Munson selected 
the following general committee to aid her in the im- 
portant work of organizing the Ladies' Auxiliary: 

First Ward — Miss Jennie Crawford. 
Second Ward — Mrs. William Norris. 
Third Ward — Mrs. Eugene B. Campbell. 
Fourth Ward— Mrs. B. S. Bentley. 
Fifth Ward— Mrs. F. E. Embick. 
Sixth Ward — Mrs. William Howard. 
Seventh Ward — Mrs. A. W. King. 
Eighth Ward— Mrs. E. J. Gray. 
Ninth Ward — Mrs. Fannie M. Gilroy. 
Tenth Ward— Mrs. H. G. McCormick. 
25 



198 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Eleventh Ward — Mrs. Henry S. Mosser. 
Twelfth Ward — Mrs. Henry W- Watson. 
South Williamsrport — Mrs. William Sweeley. 

A special committee for each ward was then se- 
lected, and the member from each ward on the general 
committee was designated to be the chairman thereof. 
Thus was the work mapped out, and by noting the de- 
tails in the following pages the reader will see how 
thorough organization led np to complete success. 

SPECIAL WARD COMMITTEES. 

First Ward — Mrs. L. Walters, Mrs. Thomas Beidy, 
Mrs. Hiram Winner, Mrs. Ed. Keyte, Mrs. Milton Pid- 
coe, Miss Fannie Bunyon, Mrs. William Wilson, Miss 
Emma McKinney, Miss Jennie Crawford, chairman. 

Second Ward — Mrs. J. V. Brown, Mrs. James S. 
Smyth, Mrs. Eleanor V. Bennett, Mrs. Elizabeth Mey- 
ers, Mrs. Helen A. Pinor, Miss Alice Leggett, Miss 
Sallie Hepburn, Mrs. M. R. Crawford, Mrs. William 
Norris, chairman. 

Third Ward — Mrs. Emanuel Andrews, Mrs. George 
S. Maxwell, Mrs. Tsabol G. Stanley, Mrs. James J. 
Gibson, Mrs. S. S. Koser, Mrs. Joseph G. Stewart, Mrs. 
William B. Updegraff, Mrs. G. D. Nutt, Mrs. A. D. 
Lundy, Mrs. Eugene B. Campbell, chairman. 

Fourth Ward — Mrs. J. A. Beeber, Mrs. B. P. Allen, 
Mrs. Garrett Crouse, Mrs. Charles Duffy, Mrs. Moses 
Ulman, Mrs. Joseph H. McMinn, Miss Lizzie Logan, 
Mrs. A. P. Atwater, Mrs. Charles J. Cummings, Mrs. 
William Freeman, Mrs. W. W. Achenbach, Mrs. B. S. 
Bentley, chairman. 

Fifth Ward — Mrs. William Emery, Mrs. Newell L. 
Johnson, Mrs. Joseph E. Austrian, Mrs. William M. 
Stephens, Mrs. J. P. Finley, Mrs. F. S. Clapp, Mrs. J. 
Walton Slate, Mrs. F. Deedmeyer, Mrs. F. D. Schweiker, 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 199 

Mrs. Lucy Eutermarks, Miss Helen Stiltz, Mrs. H. C. 
Parsons, Miss Bessie Parsons, Mrs. J. A. Olmstead, 
Mrs. E. P. Almy, Miss Annie McOlure, Miss Mary Eder, 
Mrs. Cornelia Starkweather, Mrs. Addison Candor, Mrs. 
W. D. Crocker, Mrs. James Carter, Mrs. A. P. Perley, 
Mrs. W. G. Elliot, Mrs. F. E. Embick, chairman. 

Sixth Ward — Mrs. John G. Heading, Mrs. John H. 
Millspaugh, Mrs. Fletcher Coleman, Mrs. S. N. Wil- 
liams, Mrs. E. R. Payne, Miss Mary Woodward, Mrs. 
James P. Herdic, Mrs. D. M. Peck, Mrs. William How- 
ard, chairman. 

Seventh Ward — Mrs. William Harper, Mrs. Lindsay 
Mahaffey, Mrs. W. F. Crawford, Mrs. Pharez Bacon, 
Mrs. A. C. Brown, Mrs. C. V. L. McMinn, Mrs. Jennie 
Smith, Mrs. A. W. King, chairman. 

Eighth Ward— Mrs. C. V. Runkle, Mrs. E. J. Fisher, 
Mrs. W. E. Sprague, Mrs. John M. Young, Mrs. L. C. 
Ayres, Mrs. E. J. Gray, chairman. 

Ninth Ward — Mrs. Robert Hawley, Mrs. James 
Thomas, Mrs. M. Levi, Mrs. F. M. Gilroy, chairman. 

Tenth Ward— Mrs. R. M. Bailey, Mrs. S. T. Fores- 
man, Miss Sarah Linn, Mrs. H. G. McCormick, chair- 
man. 

Eleventh W T ard — Mrs. Eben B. Campbell, Mrs. Girard 
Hagenbuch, Mrs. R. H. Bussler, Mrs. Harry K. Grubb, 
Mrs. Henry S. Mosser, chairman. 

Twelfth Ward— Mrs. J. W. Hays, Miss Laura C. 
Geddes, Mrs. Mary C. Ransom, Mrs. William F. Hop- 
kinson, Mrs. J. B. Duble, Mrs. H. W. Watson, chair- 
man. 

South Williamsport — Mrs. Harvey W. Whitehead, 
Mrs. Charles Weiss, Mrs. Edmund G. Koch, Mrs. Wil- 
liam Sweeley, chairman. 

The chairman of each of the above committees was 



200 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

requested to call a meeting of the ward committees as 
soon as possible, and add the names of other ladies to 
the committees where it was deemed necessary, and 
commence the work of looking up relics for the anti- 
quarian exhibition. 

SUGGESTIONS BY CHAIRMAN CHAMPION. 

Chairman Champion offered the following sugges- 
tions to the Auxiliary Committee in order to expedite 
the work: 

I would respectfully suggest the appointment of an Advisory Com- 
mittee of ladies, who will have charge of the Ladies' Auxiliary, and ad- 
vise with the several chairmen and members of the Auxiliary Com- 
mittee. 

And further, that the chairman of this meeting (Mrs. Munson) and 
the Advisory Committee of the Ladies' Auxiliary, appoint suitable per- 
sons to act as chairmen of the following committees; and that the chair- 
men be empowered to complete the committees by the appointment of 
additional ladies, who will engage actively in the work of soliciting ex- 
hibits and arrange for gathering and displaying the same: 

Class 1 — Relics and heirlooms, historical and otherwise, relating to 
the early men and times of the West Branch Valley, prior to 1840. 

Class 2 — Rare and valuable articles of use and ornament, from our 
own and foreign lands, jewelry, plate, etc. 

Class 3 — Work of art, paintings, portraits, engravings, sketches, 
photographs, prints, etc. 

Class 4 — Ancient, rare, valuable and historical documents, papers, 
books, bindings, Bibles, etc. 

Class 5 — Articles showing the improvements in 'the domestic, social 
and religious life of the people. 

Class 6 — Rare, old and new china, glass, porcelain, vases, dishes, bric- 
a-brac 

Class 7 — a. Ancient, curious and historical articles of dress, prior to 
1850, including laces, linens, needle work, etc. b. Since 1850, including 
modern embroideries, hand made laces, etc. 

Class 8— Antique furniture, furnishings, spinning wheels, clocks, cut- 
lery, spoons and souvenir spoons, etc. 

Class 12 — Family collections, relating to the early families of the West 
Branch. 

Class 15 — G. A. R., civic, social, religious and scientific societies, ex- 
hibits. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 201 

Class 16— Displays from the Fatherlands: a, Germany; b, Ireland; c, 
England and Scotland; e, Sweden and Norway. 

The work of the committee will be largely to solicit articles for ex- 
hibition, see that they are delivered 'to the building- at the proper time 
and arrange them for exhibition. The young ladies of the city can un- 
doubtedly be impressed into the service of the several committees to 
act as solicitors. 

The work of the several committees could be much lightened by dis- 
tricting the city and reporting the articles in each district to the proper 
chairman, who can then make a proper disposition of them when re- 
ceived. 

It is the desire and intention of the committee and the Board of Man- 
agers to make the display a comparative one, rather than one wholly 
devoted to antiquities, and the ladies are asked to work with this end in 
view. We do not desire to confine it to things ancient relating only to 
the immediate county, but rather to cover the whole field of the antique, 
the rare, the historic, the curious and the interesting — ancient and 
modern — home and foreign. 

I desire to assure the ladies who may engage in this patriotic task, 
that (everything will be done that can be done to insure the safe keeping 
and prompt return of every article entrusted in our care. 

I can only ask that every 'lady will go away from here feeling herself 
a committee of one to do her share toward making the antiquarian dis- 
play 'of the Lycoming County Centennial a pronounced success. 

The ladies acted promptly, and from this time on the 
work of preparation was conducted with celerity and 
dispatch. Having taken hold of the matter, there was 
a will and a determination to succeed shown by all, 
and the magnificent success which followed their com- 
bined efforts clearly demonstrated what can be accom- 
plished when there is organization and unity of pur- 
pose. 

WARD MEETINGS AND SUB-COMMITTEES. 

Meetings in nearly all the wards were promptly 
called to take action, and they were generally well at- 
tended. The committee for the First Ward met at the 
residence of the chairman, Miss Jennie Crawford, and 
organized for work. The meeting was a most inter- 
esting one. The ward was divided into sections and 
each lady assigned to a particular one. 



202 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The committee for the Second Ward met at the 
house of Mrs. J. V. Brown, and after appointing Miss 
Alice Bubb secretary, the following ladies were ap- 
pointed to make a house to house canvass in search of 
relics: Miss N. T. Bubb, Miss Emma Watson, Mrs. 
Leggett, Mrs. Smyth, Miss Barrie Gamble, Mrs. Robert 
Faries, Miss Nellie Page, Miss Anna Slate, Mrs. Julius 
A. Herold, Mrs. B. H. Detwiler, Mrs. 0. A. Lyon, Miss 
Mary Lundy, Miss Swartz, Mrs. C. C. Beeber, Miss 
Margaret Gamble and Miss Kitty Watson. 

The committee for the Third Ward met at the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Eugene B. Campbell and organized by 
electing Mrs. George D. Nutt secretary, and the follow- 
ing ladies were appointed to solicit articles for the an- 
tiquarian display: Misses Amy Sallade, Sailie and Mar- 
garet Updegraff, Ida Zercher, Florence Gleim, Maine 
Field, Jennie liyman, Tillie and Kate Hagenbuch, 
Mary Young, the Misses Weddigen, Miss Hill, and Mrs. 
H. R. Laird. 

The committee for the Fourth Ward met in the par- 
lor of the Bark Hotel and organized for work. Each 
member of the committee evinced much enthusiasm, 
and they resolved to perform their part of the work 
promptly. 

A similar meeting in the Fifth Ward was called at 
the residence of Mrs. William Emery, and organized 
by electing Mrs. F. E. Embick chairman, and Mrs. H. 
C. Parsons secretary. The ward was districted and the 
following sub-committees appointed: Mrs. Charles 
Bartles, Mrs. Addison Candor, Misses Stiltz and Par- 
sons, to have charge of the district lying between Park 
and Maynard Streets and Fourth and the river; Mrs. 
A. P. Perley, Mrs. J. B. Emery, Mrs. Walton Slate and 
Mrs. Frank Clapp, the district lying between Maynard 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 203 

and Campbell Streets and Fourth Street and the river; 
Mrs. Harriet Olmstead, Mrs. Jacob Hess, Mrs. Franz 
Deedmeyer and Mrs. Fred Schweiker, the district lying 
between Walnut and Campbell Streets and Fourth 
Street and the river; Misses Brown, Rowley and Lou 
Deemer, the district lying between Walnut and Locust 
Streets and Fourth Street and the river; Mrs. N. L. 
Johnson, Mrs. Ezra Canfield, Misses Embick and Mary 
Eder, the district lying between Locust and Centre 
Streets and Fourth Street and the river; Mrs. William 
G. Elliot, Mrs. Howard Cheney, Mrs. A. D. Hermance 
and Miss Heilman, the district lying between Centre 
and Elmira Streets and Fourth Street and the river; 
Mrs. Joseph E. Austrian, Misses Elliot and Allen, the 
district lying between Elmira and Hepburn Streets 
and Fourth Street and the river. 

Mrs. William Howard, chairman, called a meeting 
in the Sixth Ward at her house, and an organization 
was effected. The following young ladies were selected 
to act as solicitors: Misses Olive Foresman, Josie 
Mudge, Maud McDonald, M. Bernice Millspaugh, 
Birdie Chapman, Ida Van Fleet, Lottie Bailey, Effle 
Byers and Anna Watson. 

A meeting of the committee of the Seventh Ward 
was held at the house of the chairman, Mrs. A. W. 
King, and Mrs. C. V. L. McMinn was selected as sec- 
retary. A sub-committee on house to house solicita- 
tion was appointed, consisting of Misses Florence Wil- 
son, Emma Cupp, Maggie Smith, Josie Wilson, Hattie 
Straub, Laura Toner, Gertie Quigley, Retta Funston, 
Nannie Cupp, Bertha Blair, Anna Case, Madge Nichols 
and Mary Brown. 

The ladies of the Eighth Ward held a meeting at 
the request of the chairman, Mrs. E. J. Gray, at the 



204 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Seminary, and organized by appointing Mrs. Louis 
Schneider secretary. Among those present were Mrs. 
J. B. Dayton, Mrs. Charles V. Runkle, Mrs. L. C. Ayres, 
Mrs. James Derr, Mrs. Charlotte Slate, Mrs. George 
W. Parsons, Mrs. Lewis McDowell and Mrs. Louis 
Schneider. The following young ladies were desig- 
nated to make a thorough canvass of the ward 
for articles of interest for the exhibition: Misses 
Carrie Young, Helen Runkle, Marcia Parsons, Caro- 
line Beck, Blanche Sprague, Man- Reider, Mabel Tay- 
lor, Daisy Mills and Bessie Chatham. The ward was 
divided into sections for the purpose of facilitating the 
work. 

Mrs. Gilroy called a meeting of the committee of the 
Ninth Ward, at her residence on East Third Street. 
Mrs. Levi and Mrs. Isaac Weil were requested to assist 
the committee, and the following young ladies were ap- 
pointed to solicit articles for exhibition: Misses Rubie 
Thomas, Edith Johnston, Stella Watson, Lizzie Miller 
and Bertha Levi. 

In the Tenth Ward a meeting of the committee was 
called at the residence of the chairman, Mrs. H. G. Mc- 
Cormick, and Miss Sarah Linn was appointed secre- 
tary. The following sub-committee was selected to 
canvass the ward: Misses Brown, Kavanaugh, Upde- 
graff, Ruth Foresman, Martha McCormick and Flor- 
ence Payne. 

A meeting of the ladies composing the committee 
in the Eleventh Ward was held at the residence of the 
chairman, Mrs. H. S. Mosser, and Mrs. R. H. Bussler 
acted as secretary. The following sub-committee on 
solicitation was appointed: Misses Mame Nicely, 
Laura Updegraff, Helen Mosser, Blanche Campbell, 
Grace Bovee, Margaret Updegraff, Anna Courson, 
Mabel Thomas, Maggie Caldwell and Kate Meyers. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 205 

The Twelfth Ward committee held a meeting at the 
house of the chairman, Mrs. H. W. Watson, and Mrs. 
Ransom served as secretary. The following young ladies 
were appointed to make a canvass of the ward for relics: 
Misses Mabel Duble, Mame Updegraff, Sophia Eschen- 
bach, Grace McVickar, Bessie Elliot, Blanche Quiggle, 
Elsie Wilkinson, Margaret Thompson, Laura Payne, 
Lottie Laedlein, Lucy Levan and Maud Otto. 

ENCOURAGING REPORTS. 

On the 17th of May a meeting of the above com- 
mittee was held at the house of the chairman, Mrs. 
Munson, and was well attended by the ladies, every 
ward in the city and the South Side being represented. 
The reports of the several ward chairmen showed that 
the work was progressing finely and that thf* results 
were most gratifying. Chairman Champion was pres- 
ent and answered such questions as the ladies asked 
in regard to the work, and thanked them for the great 
interest they had shown in the work. 

BOROUGH AND TOWNSHIP AUXILIARY COMMITTEES. 

South Williamsport — The Ladies' Auxiliary of South 
Williamsport held a very enthusiastic meeting at the 
residence of the chairman, Mrs. William Sweeley. 
After electing Miss Alvina Koch Secretary, the follow- 
ing ladies were appointed to serve in the different 
wards: 

First Ward — Mrs. William Crooks, chairman; Mrs. 
Bickert, Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Sam Bastian, Mrs. Shale, 
Mrs. Bobbins, Mrs. August Koch, Mrs. Mitterer, Mrs. 
Murray, Mrs. Wise, Mrs. Sower, Mrs. Samuel Wise, 
Mrs. Mcintosh, Mrs. Al. Lutcher, Mrs. McGraw, Mrs. 
Ellinger, Mrs. Frank Pierce, Mrs. Deloy, Mrs. Percival 
W^eigel. 

26 



206 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Second Ward — Mrs. A. E. Scholl, chairman; Mrs. 
Bannen, Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Diener, Mrs. Zerbey, Mrs. 
Plank, Mrs. Kntz, Mrs. Schooley, Mrs. Walter E. Ritter, 
Mrs. Thomas Jarrett, Mrs. Stokes, Mrs. Childs, Mrs. 
J. W. Mil nor, Mrs. C. Achenbach, Mrs. J. H. Riale, 
Mrs. Rathmell, Mrs. Eck, Mrs. Strayley, Mrs. J. E. Heil- 
man, Mrs. J. Mohl, Mrs. Steinbacher, Mrs. Harmaii, 
Mrs. Hnnter. 

Third Ward — Mrs. William Riekert, chairman; Mrs. 
Charlotte Plankenhorn, Mrs. Charles Schneider, Mrs. 
Shempp, Mrs. Tarman, Mrs. Joseph Bostley, Mrs. 
Hand, Mrs. George Lnppert, Mrs. Charles Planken- 
horn, Mrs. Kerlin, Mrs. Valentine Lnppert, Mrs. Clarke 
McCnen, Mrs. Kaiser, Mrs. Evelhair, Mrs. Woodman- 
see, Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Trafford, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. 
Fryer, Mrs. William Kriger. 

Following are the names of the ladies composing 
the auxiliary committees in the other boroughs of the 
county: 

DuBoistown — Mrs. Will Whitehead, chairman; Mrs. 
A. B. Harrison, Mrs. Fred Lannert, Mrs. Jerre. Don- 
ley. 

Salladasbnrg — Mrs. A. D .Olds, Mrs. A. N. Missimer, 
Mrs. F. W. Fetter. 

Montgomery — Miss Gertie Henderson, Mrs. W. D. 
Shollenberger, Mrs. Herbert Houston, chairman; Miss 
Minnie Menges. 

Hughesville — Mrs. J. K. Rishel, Mrs. DeWitt Bo- 
dine, Miss Cornelia Hill, Mrs. W. H. Warn, secretary. 

Montoursville — Miss Reibecca Griggs, chairman; 
Martha B. Cole, Mary Williams, Jennie Petriken, Mol- 
lie Griffiths, Bertha Burrows, Clara Konkle. 

Muncy — Miss May Clapp, chairman; Mrs. J. Roan 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 207 

Barr, Miss Amy Musser, Mrs. Dr. J. R. Rankin, Mrs. 
Ida Van B. Walton, Mrs. L. S. Smith, Mrs. T. B. Pain- 
ter, Miss Sue Shoemaker, Mrs. M. J. Levan, Mrs. A. 
W. Gibson, Mrs. A. H. Gudykunst, Mrs. H. V. Peter 
man, Miss Sarah Wallis. 

Picture Rocks — Mrs. Walter Beck, chairman; Mrs. 
C. W. Burrows, Mrs. W. H. Little, Mrs. J. D. Musgrave, 
Mrs. C. W. Longbay, Mrs. W. 11. Blaike, Mrs. Samuel 
Barrett, Miss Jennie Melhuish, Edith Krause, Ella 
Beck and Daisie Weaver. 

The ladies' auxiliary of Jersey Shore and Porter 
Township held a meeting at the residence of Mrs. Car- 
rie B. Sides, in Jersey Shore, and discussed the work 
with Chairman Champion, who was present. The meet- 
ing was a very satisfactory one. Jersey Shore and 
Porter Township promised a most valuable and inter- 
esting exhibit. The Porter Township committee was 
composed of Mrs. M. P. Hepburn, chairman; Miss Delia 
Martin, Miss Mattie Martin and Mrs. McClure Junod. 
The committee for Jersey Shore Borough was com- 
posed of the following: Mrs. Carrie B. Sides, chair- 
man of borough auxiliary; Mrs. J. Frank Xi ray, secre- 
tary; First Ward, Miss Mary A. Martin and Miss Jen- 
nie Muir; Second Ward, Mrs. W. R. Peoples, Miss M. 
Don Fuller, Miss M. Bear and Mrs. Frank Trump; 
Third Ward, Miss Jennie Grier, Maud Dravenstadt and 
Mrs. J. B. Mclntyre. The several ward committees 
were ready to make a canvass of their respective dis- 
tricts. 

The ladies of the Hughesville auxiliary antiquarian 
committee met at the house of the chairman, Mrs. J. 
K. Rishel, May 9th, for the purpose of organization. 
The following ladies were present: Mrs. DeWitt Bo- 
dine, Mrs. James K. Boak, Mrs. William H. Warn and 



208 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Miss Cornelia Hill. Mrs. Warn was appointed secretary. 
The object of the meeting was stated, when the follow- 
ing subcommittees were appointed for the purpose 
of soliciting articles for exhibition: From James K. 
Boak's to Park Street, Misses Venie Sprout and Mame 
Kaupp; Park to Cemetery, Miss Margaret Seel, Mrs. 
Win. Fague; Cemetery to Academy, Misses Anna Bren- 
holtz and Ella Swartz; Academy to Water, Misses 
Maggie Fague and Fannie Stevenson; Water to Wal- 
nut, Misses Agnes Springer and Kate Brumgard; Wal- 
nut to the upper end of the town, Misses Mary Kutz and 
Alta Buck. The chairman said to the ladies: "Let 
us bring out our old silver, china, glass, furniture and 
wearing apparel prior to 1850, including linen, laces, 
etc. As all the towns and boroughs of the county 
are making an effort to make a display that will do 
them credit, surely Hughesville must not be found 
wanting." 

SPECIAL TOWNSHIP COMMITTEES. 

In order to still iurther perfect the organization, Chair- 
man Champion appointed the following township com- 
mittees for the purpose of looking after antiquarian 
exhibits in the various districts in the county: 

Anthony — David iCiess, Henry Hawer, Miss Huby Williamson, Miss 
Ella Ulmer, Miss Nettie S. Delker. 

Armstrong — Henry Zartman, Henry P. Decker, George M. Parker. 

Bastress — Matthias Stopper. 

Brady— S. P. Shaffer, MaOall Piatt, D. P. Waltman, Miss Clara 
Reeser, Miss Belie Fritz. 

Brown— VV. E. Delaney, M. D., G. A. Gamble, J. H. Miller, Mat- 
thias Tomb, Jeff Gamble. 

Cascade — VV. J. McNamee, James Logue, Ella Kinsley, Hannah Kel- 
ley, James McLaughlin. 

Oogan House — Dr. J. VV. Hitter, Miss Mary Whittig, Mame Wood, 
Mrs. Henry Christ. Advisory member, Abraham Meyer, member Anti- 
quarian Committee. 

Cwmminga— J. G. Wolf, John Carson, Michael Bonnell, George A. 
Ramsey, Mayberrie S. Eldon. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 209 

Clinton— Hervey Smith, Michael Sechler, Herbert Thomas, Miss Kate 
Eger, Mrs. John Bair, Mrs. John Heilman, Mrs. C. R. Lilley. 

Eldred— Mrs. A. F. Wilson, Miss Sue Heim, Mrs. M. T. Milnor, Mrs. 
F. C. Kiess, Mrs. Pierson Waltz, Mrs. Byron Wilson. 

Lower Fairfleld — W. T. Sherman, Dr. Charles Lyon, George Belles, 
Eli Budd, J. B. Bardo, Wilson Person, Harry Rakestraw, John Cleese. 

Upper Fairfleld— J. C. Budd, Dr. J. W. Van Horn, Charles Roth- 
fuss, A. A. Winter, Harvey Reeder, J. F. Drick. 

Franlklin — Pierson Spring, E. E. Renn, T. B. Raper, Mary Smith, 
Tillie Flock, Sallie Vandine, A. G. Ritter. 

Gamble— H. M. Lowe, Matthew Hall, David S.teiger, Adam Straley, 
Isaac Southard, Peter'Lush. 

Hepburn— Jacob Heim, B. G. Bovee, Charles Beidelspacher, Mrs. J. 
George Becht, Miss Mell Collins, Miss Sallie Ball. 

Jackson — T. H. Maitland, Levi Miller, A. B. Secrist. 

Jordan — E. E. Boudman, C. H. Berger, T. R. Everett- 

Lewis — Robert Innes, Furman Field, J. C- Neyhart, Charles Heyl- 
mun, L. S. Wise, John Noon, Joseph Fillinger. 

Limestone — John Engler, Frank Welshans, Peter S. Denworth, War- 
ren Clark, Dr. A. T. Welker. 

Loyalsock — First Precinct — Elizabeth Bird, Annie Collins, Stella 
Fulmer, Ella Wilson, Margaret Myers- Second Precinct — Peter 
Glosser, ; Jonathan Neft', Frank Lowe, Frank Lundy, Clarence Whee- 
land, Arthur Wilson. 

Lycoming — John S. Hays, Valentine Stiber, J. A. Bulach. 

Old Lycoming — L. A. Pidcoe, Edward Jamison, John Good. 

Mclntyre — Mrs. D. C. Flanagan, Mrs. W. K. Heylman, Mrs. Wood- 
ruff, Jennie Conoly, Ida Rogers. 

McHenry — O. N. Campbell, D. E. Hostrander, Timothy Splan, 
Luther Callahan, E. R. Bonnell. 

MeNett— E. W. McNett, J. W. Mcllwain, W. H. Parsons. 

Mifflin — Chris Seigle, George Hyde. 

Mill Creek — George Lipp, E. G. Kleese, Dolph Gortner, Maurice 
Nevel, Abner Hall. 

Moreland — David Rishel, S. B. Derr, W. F. Madison. 

Muncy Township — Miss Susan Saul, Miss Susan Haines, Mrs. John 
S. Kirk, Mrs. Peter Belles, Miss Hannah Webster, Miss Sue Menden- 
hall, Miss Edith Good. 

Muncy Creek— F- C. Heilman, C. D. Eldred, H- D. Gold, B. F. 
Johnson, J. Harvey Dimm, Domer Vanderbilt. 

Nippenose — Mrs. George L. Sanderson, Mrs. G. W. Crane, Mrs. 
Christ Bubb, Mrs. G. P. Smith, Mrs. William Wright. 

Penn — Alvin Opp, Milton Poust, Elias Reese. 

Piatt— C. B. Riddefl, A. B. Artman, W. T. Pepp^rman, Dr. B. A. 
Young, Joseph Gray. 

Porter — Mrte. M. P. Hepburn, Miss Delia Martin, Mrs. McClure 
Junod, Miss Mattie Martin, Miss Martha Martin. 



210 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Plunkeitt's Creek— James 1 Ball, James Warn, Julius Lewis, Nathanieil 
Johnson, Levi Hill. 

Pine— Stephen Rogers, O- J. Graham, George P. Lowe, Henry Eng- 
lish. 

Susquehanna— Robert Gibson, William Riddel 1, James Barnfield. 

Shrewsbury— George W. Knox, G. W. Taylor, Wilson Corson. 

Washington— Samuel Sedam, William Schooley, John Coats, S. L. 
Mull, G. C. Hagenbuch. 

Wolf— B. W. Michael, George Steck, A. J. Kahler, C. W. Person, 
James K. Boak, Frank Rynearson. 

Wiatson— Enoch Tomb, Joseph Hartranft, J. W. Ulmer. 

Woodward — William Stewarjt, William Cowden, Thomas Hughes, 
Dr. B. M. Yost, Joseph Kiess. 

COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFICATION. 

Mrs. C. LaRue Munson, chairman of the Ladies' Aux- 
iliary Committee, announced the following sub-com- 
mittees to assist in the classification and arrangement 
of the different articles in the antiquarian building: 

Class 1. Relics and heirlooms — historical and other- 
wise^ — relating to the early men and times of this val- 
ley, prior to 1840 — Mrs. Robert Faries, Mrs. John A. 
Gamble, Mrs. J. Sturdivant, Mrs. W. E. Mohr, Muncy; 
Miss Anna Carpenter, Jersey Shore; Mrs. A. B. Hender- 
son, Montgomery; Mrs. DeWitt Bodine, Hughesville. 

Class 2. Rare and valuable articles of use and orua- 
ment from our own and foreign lands — Mrs. Martha 
C. White, Mrs. J. V. Brown, Mrs. Helen A. Piper, Miss 
Henrietta Lyon, Mrs. J. Frank Gray, Jersey Shore; 
Mrs. T. A. Boak, Hughesville; Mrs. Dr. H. M. Essick, 
Picture Rocks. 

Class 3. Works of art, portraits, paintings, engrav- 
ings, sketches, photographs, prints, etc. — Mrs. D. M. 
Peck, Mrs. A. D. Hermance, Mrs. C. E. Hicks, Miss Lizzie 
Logan, Mrs. Jeremiah Kelley, Hughesville; Miss Ida 
Koch, South Williamsport; Mrs. John S. Tomb, Jersey 
Shore. 

Class 4. Ancient, rare, valuable and historical docu- 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 211 

ments, papers, books, bibles, bindings, etc. — Mrs. A. 
D. Lundy, Mrs. J. E. Dayton, Miss Geddes, Miss Lizzie 
Dickson, Miss Martha Schuyler, Mnncy; Mrs. S. W. 
Furst, Jersey Shore; Mrs. L. I. Meyer, Montoursville. 

Class 5. Articles showing the improvement in the 
domestic, social and religious life of the people — Mrs. 
Mary A. Kansom, Mrs. Margaret McVicar, Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Hepburn, Miss May Lundy, Mrs. W. H. Wagner, 
Antes Fort; Mrs. Robert Innes, Bodines; Mrs. Dr. 
Charles Schneider, South Williamsport. 

Class 5, b. Agriculture, etc., James Thomas, Wil- 
liamsport; Hervey Smith, Clinton Township; Abner 
Fague, Picture Rocks; Charles Riddell, Larry's Creek; 
W. H. Wagner, Antes Fort; John Engler, Limestone; 
C. W. Williamson, Salladasburg; Robert Wood, White 
Pine. 

Class 6. Rare old china, glass, porcelain, vases, dishes, 
bric-a-brac, etc. — Mrs. J. R. T. Ryan, Mrs. William Nor- 
ris, Mrs. F. E. Embick, Mrs. T. L. Painter, Mrs. W. E. 
Sprague, Mrs. H. B. Humes, Jersey Shore; Miss Alice 
Bubb, Mrs. Samuel Rogers, Muncy. 

Class 7. Ancient, curious and historical articles of 
wearing apparel, prior to 1850, embracing linens, laces, 
embroideries, etc. — Miss Mary Lowe, Miss Susan 
Haines, Pennsdale; Miss Emily Lyon, Miss Mary 
Purdy, Mrs. C. W. Lilley, Montgomery; Mrs. James B. 
Krause, Mrs. J. W. Sweely, Mrs. B. E. Staples, Jersey 
Shore. 

Class 8, a. Antique furniture — A. H. Heilman, Wil- 
liamsport; W. Coleman Hall, Hartley Hall; Howard 
Wallis, Muncy; J. K. Rissel, Hughesville; Frank 
Trump, Jersey Shore. 

Class 8, b. Antique furnishings, clocks, cutlery, etc. 



212 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

— Mrs. William B. Updegraff, Mrs. D. A. Howe, Mrs. 
William G. Elliot, Mrs. Henry Rawle, Mrs. William 
Mendenhall, Montoursville; Mrs. P. D. Bricker, Jersey 
Shore, Miss Wilkinson. 

Class 9. Indian relics, pottery, ptr. — Joseph H. Mc- 
Minn, Williamsport; J. M. M. Geraerd, Muncy; Dudley 
A. Martin, DuBoistown; C. V. L. McMinn, Newberry. 

Class 10, a. Collections of birds and animals — Au- 
gust Koch, South Williamsport; Charles H. Eldon, 
Boyd Rothroek, Louis Aurand, Williamsport; Fred. 
Kramer, Loyalsoek Township; Adam Carothers, New- 
berry. 

Class 10, b. Minerals, woods, plants, fossils, etc. — 
Abraham Meyer, Cogan House; John Lawshe, Williams- 
port; Robert Brownlee, Ralston; Wilson Butz, Williams- 
port 

Class 11. Coins, medals, stamps, badges, etc. — Henry 
Metzger, W. N. Jones, A. Neimeyer, W. A. McCart, Wil- 
liamsport; W. F. Carpenter, Jersey Shore; J ere Kelley, 
Hughesville; W. E. Mohr, Muncy. 

Class 12. Family collections relating to the early pion- 
eer families — Miss Anuie Lyon, Mrs. George Parsons, 
Mrs. Eleanor Bennett, Mrs. F. J. Burrows, Miss Nellie 
Gamble, Mrs. Julia R. Harris, Jersey Shore; Mrs. Dr. 
George G. Wood, Muncy. 

Class 13. Relics of the wars, 1754 to 1865, hunting 
knives, old rifles, powder horns, etc. — James B. Den- 
worth, D. B. Dykens and John II. Grant. 

14. No committee appointed. 

Class 15. G. A. R., N. G. P., civic, religious and scien- 
tific societies, etc., exhibits — W. E. Sprague, Col. J. B. 
Coryell, William Mendenhall, Rev. W. H. Graff, J. W. 
Fleming. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 213 

Class 16. Displays of articles brought from the Fath- 
erland — (a) German, B. F. Gutge, Charles Krirani, W. 
C. Siess; (b) Irish, Martin O'Hehir, M. J. Costello, Ed- 
ward Phillips. 

Class 17. Displays of ancient and modern goods by 
merchants and manufacturers — Hugh MacDonald, L. 
I. Meyer, George H. Rogers, D. W. Shollenberger, 
Hiram M. Ulman. 

Class 18. Contrasted display by wheelmen — George 
M. Robinson, J. W. Bowman, George Zercher. 

Class 19. Schools, text books, old records, etc. — J. 
George Becht, Mnncy; Dr. S. Transeau, Williamsport; 
Prof. F. W. Bobbins, Muncy; Miss M. Lou Parker, Jer- 
sey Shore; Prof. J. G. Dundore, Hughesville; J. C. Har- 
man, Montgomery; C. W. Scott, W. W. Kelchner, Wil- 
liamsport. 

COMMITTEE ON BUILDING AND DECORATION. 

Committee on Arrangements of Building and General 
Display — A. S. Wagner, chairman; James B. Kranse, 
C. J. Reilly, Dr. S. S. Koser, Dr. E. B. Campbell, W. C. 
Gilmore, F. Deedmeyer, F. P. Cummings, L. C. Gates, 
R. A. Housel. 

Committee on Decorations — Howard Lyon, chair- 
man; W. W. Achenbach, R. Flem Allen, John B. Em- 
bick, W. P. Bradley, C. T. McClarin, Max Harris, Carl 
Neimeyer, John W. Budd, Frank O. Emery, James A. 
Pugh, W. E. Ransom. Ladies' Auxiliary: Mrs. James 
N. Kline, Mrs. Dr. S. S. Koser, Mrs. Brua C. Keefer, Mrs. 
Roscoe Huff, Mrs. V. W. Quigel, Miss Eleanor Allen, 
Miss Edith Van Dusen, Miss Margaret Embick, Miss 
Georgiana Rowley, Miss Lou Deemer, Miss Sadie Pratt, 
Miss Grace McVicker, Miss Florence Brown, Miss Edith 
Bennington and Miss Vanetta Wagner. 

27 



214 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SOLICITORS. 

In a circular addressed to the Antiquarian Commit- 
tee, Chairman Champion enclosed the following infor- 
mation for the guidance of sub-committees in soliciting 
articles for the antiquarian display: 

1. The display will opera July 1 and dose not later than July 10, at 
which time all exhibits may be removed, but exhibits will be cared 
for until removed or returned to owner. 

2. The committee will be prepared to receive exhibits on and after 
JKune 20, at the building, corner Pine and Fifth streets, Williamsport, and 
will return all articles promptly after close of display, or keep them until 
called for, as requested. , 

3. Articles will be received, tagsred and receipted for at the build- 
ine: and at designated places in the several boroughs of the county, and 
will be carefully guarded niglit and day, and fully insured. 

4. All valuable articles, and those likely to be damaged in any man- 
ner, will h° exhibited in sealed show case*, and all articles will receive 
careful attention and the best possible care. 

5. Be sure and haVe exhibitors give date and history of exhibits so 
far as possible, and to accomnany exhibits with lists and history of each 
article, and when possible have them prepare small display cards. The 
committee will have the cards rewritten when necessary. 

6. Use great care in the selection of exhibits, and when in doubt, refer 
the matter to the chairman of the Antiquarian Committer Get articles 
of interest in themselves bv reason of age or of association. Accept no 
lare-e or bulky article without the advice of the committee. When an 
article is likely to be duplicated make a note of it, and report for further 
advice. Lett every article add to the value or beauty of our display. 

7. Obtain information as to how and where articles can be delivered 
to when wanted — whether they will be brought or forwarded by the 
owner direct to Williamsport, or to the nearest receiving place, or 
whether it will be necessary for the committee to call for them. Avoid 
this so far as possible, except where the committee can arrange to have 
them called for. 

8. Keep accurate lists and report all articles with their date and his- 
tory to the chairman of the Antiquarian Committee from time to time. 
Ask exhibitors to furnish articles promptly upon 'receipt of notice, 
either at building or at nearest borough, where receiving stations will 
be opened during the last week of June. If addresses of intending ex- 
hibitors are furnished the chairman a card notifying them of time and 
place for forwarding exhibits will be sent in proper season. 

9. The committee will bear the expense of packing and transporta- 
tion both ways for all exhibits accepted. 



ANTIQUARIAN COMMITTEES. 215 

OPENING DAY ANNOUNCED. 

At a meeting of the chairmen and secretaries of the 
Ladies 1 Auxiliary- Committee, held in the parlors of the 
Y. M. C. A., June 12th, over which Mrs. Munson pre- 
sided, it was announced that in accordance with the 
instructions of Chairman Champion, it was decided to 
open the exhibition with an informal reception under 
the auspices of the Ladies' Auxiliary, on Monday even- 
ing, July 1, 1895. 

Encouraging reports were received from all the 
wards and boroughs, and the outlook for a fine exhibi- 
tion was flattering. Miss Clapp, chairman of the Muncy 
committee, reported a very successful canvass, and that 
Muncy would make their exhibit a borough display — 
exhibit the whole of it together as from Muncy. 

A special committee, consisting of Mrs. H. W. Wat- 
son, chairman; Miss Gassoway, of the Seminary; Miss 
Sallie Linn, Mrs. B. S. Bentley, Miss Annie Doebler, 
Miss Alice Bubb, Miss Bessie Parsons, Mrs. E. J. Gray, 
Mrs. William Norris, Mrs .James B. Coryell, Mrs. Lati- 
mer Beck, Mrs. Margaret Embick, were chosen to ar- 
range for the special historical features during the ex- 
position. 

The meeting then adjourned. 



216 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



CENTENNIAL HALL. 



Opening and Reception by the Ladies — Magnifi- 
cent Display of Antiquities. 



In accordance with the announcement made by the 
Ladies' Auxiliary Committee, the doors of Centennial 
Hall were thrown open promptly at 7 o'clock P. M., July 
1, 1895, and the great exhibition was inaugurated by 
an informal reception. The ladies were on hand in 
force to welcome all who came and show them the won- 
derful display of rare and valuable relics of "Ye Olden 
Time," which they had assisted in gathering and ar- 
ranging in the space of a few weeks. 

There was a large attendance, and the spectacle 
which met the gaze of the visitors was most interesting. 
The vast hall, adorned with gay and appropriate decor- 
ations, flags and bunting, presented a scene that was 
almost bewildering. Under the blaze of many arc 
lights, which illuminated the interior of the vast build- 
ing with the brilliancy of day, the almost countless 
number of relics, souvenirs and heirlooms, valuable to 
their owners on account of their association with those 
of an almost forgotten past, appeared to splendid ad- 
vantage and enraptured the throng of visitors which 
swept through the aisles of the capacious building, 
while the Lettan & Chappell full orchestra discoursed 
sweet music. The exhibit, in its variety and beauty, 
exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine, and on 
every hand were heard such exclamations as — "how 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 217 

beautiful!" "I never expected to see such a fine array;" 
"where did the ladies get all these curious relics?" 

The successful opening was a proud evening for the 
ladies of the Auxiliary Committee and their friends, and 
they were the recipients of many congratulations and 
unbounded praise. It was a great triumph. For weeks, 
from early morn till late at night, they had labored to 
make the exhibition a success; all interested gave a 
helping hand from the gray-haired matron to the merry 
misses in their teens, and they now beheld the culmina- 
tion of their hopes in an exhibit which was not only 
dazzling to the eye but instructive to the mind, and 
of sufficient variety and attractiveness to captivate the 
most critical and command admiration. The doubters 
and cynics were silenced; the envious were put to 
flight; the "stand-backs" were amazed and saw that 
they had made a mistake in withholding their aid and 
sympathy, and they were now anxious to join the 
happy throng and aid by contributing new attractions. 
It was, indeed, a proud occasion for those who had 
toiled to make the event in honor of the county and 
their ancestors the crowning glory of the celebration. 

The delighted visitors carried the news of the beauty 
and magnificence of the exhibition to their friends out- 
side, and from this time on to the close the hall was 
crowded, and many times during the day and evening 
the throng was so great as to render a visit uncomfort- 
able, and prevent a careful examination of the relics. 
To record the name and history of every article placed 
on exhibition, and by whom, is almost impossible, on 
account of the short time there was to receive and 
arrange the specimens, but in the following pages an 
effort will be made to give as full a list as possible. 

Out of the forty-two townships in the county exhibits 



218 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

were received from the following, which are given in 
alphabetical order: 

TOWNSHIP EXHIBITS. 

Armstrong — H. D. Sortman, bone card, made by himself at York- 
town during the rebellion; Indian brick; black marble; marble core 
from the Mosquito Valley quarries; pair of old English forceps found 
at siege of York town; sickle 150 years old. 

Bastress — Mrs. John Keller, book printed in 1675, "Glorious Rome." 

Peter Harris, Life of Christ, 1706; lamp, 117 years; sadirons, 209 
years; spinning wheel, 173 years. 

Margaret Dietrich, two pewter plates from Germany. 

M- Stopper, Howe sewing machine, first sewing machine brought to 
Williamsport, sold for $125; German Latin dictionary. 

Brady — S. P. Shaffer, German bake kettle; old ox yoke; flax hatchel; 
.two sabres; two canteens; spurs; satchel; bear trap; sugar bowl; shell 
case, with a collection of silver and copper coins and United States frac- 
tional currency; Confederate money and bonds; collection of bullets from 
the late war; two rings from the wreck of the Cumberland, sunk by the 
rebel ram Merrimack; old Bull's-eye watch with repair card of Jacob 
Mussina, 1830, in it; silver teaspoons; corps badge made from the root 
of an apple tree struck by one of Lee's shells; pair of snow shoes. 

Cogan House — Mrs. Charles H. Naylor, tailor's iron; pinking iron 
and sheet iron lamp and basket. These articles were brought from 
Scotland and are all over 100 years old. 

Cornelius Garrison, geography, 1814; gold dollar, 1851. 

William Love, griddle, 125 years old; arithmetic, 1788- 

Adda Crist, picture of an old church. 

George Moyer, bread basket, used by Grandmother Fessler, of Wil- 
liamsport, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. William Gorham, coffee kettle, 200 years old, German. 

Mrs- Joseph Gorham, stone ink-stand nearly 200 years. 

A. F. Wood, his father's book of examplesi used in 1808, at the age 
of fifteen; slate used in Wood family before the Revolution. 

Mrs. Reuben Hillyard, book sent from the front by her son Charles, 
title, "A Good Soldier." 

Mrs. Pautot, homespun linen. 

William Zinc, revolver, sword and scabbard and belt (his own), used 
during the late war; bone relics made in the army; grubbing hoe 93 years. 

Mrs. J. P- Mecuun, clogs worn in 1850, when she came from England- 

Mrs. Jacob Weigle, press board over 75 years old. 

Mrs. C. Ayres, butter jar used by Grandmother Caldwell, over 100 
years old; pewter tea pot, nearly 200 years old; two pewter plates; fan 
made from turkey feathers; linen towel made in 1771 by Miss Mary White; 
home-made towels, 1821 and 1841; shell comb, 65 years old. 

Miss Jennie Guillamme, pair of sabots, made in France. 

George Wittig, flint-lock gun of Revolutionary fame. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 219 

Annie Wittig, grandmother's silk shoulder shawl, over 100 years old. 

Dr. England, letter descriptive of the batle of Murfreesboro>; knap- 
sack and coffee pot; earthen coffee pot- 

C. Harman, order for public road from, Washington Township to 
Jersey Shore. 

Henry Ross, Indian relics. 

Charles Smead, canteen, cup and fork; star out of the flag; a pass. 
All used in the late war. 

Mrs. D. MoKane, glass decanter. 

Mrs. S. Stryker, two linen towels. 

Mrs. Ambrose Wood. Indian relics. 

Charles Wood .English shilling, 1817, and old copper penny. 

Miss Mame Wood, candlestick and snuffers; pair of shears brought 
from England; piece of wood from a Virginia battlefield- 
Jacob C. Reigle. Revolutionary gun. 

Mr. and Mrs- Samuel Kinley, canteen, 1863-1865; iron baking pan; 
two Confederate cannon balls; four Minnie balls; pair of shell and fuse 
holders, C. S. A.; horse pistol, war of 1812; early hand saw; two Indian 
relics; copy of Webster County (Kingston) Gazette, January 4, 1800; 
brass andirons and candlestick; English-German Choral. 

Mr. and Mrs. Christian Helper, sheep shears; shovel and tongs; brass 
candlestick and snuffers; three pewter plates; two log cabin plates, 
1840; three old-fashioned butter plates. 

Miss Lizzie Cooper, linen towel. 

Miss Mamie Meyer, linen towel. 

J. J- Cooper, quartz crystal. 

Mr. and Mrs. T. F- Connolly, silk vest and linen towel; book of poems, 
Dublin, 1767; pewter milk pitcher; powder horn; set of spoons. 

Walter Connolly, old watch made at Dublin. 

R. R- Brewer, walnut chest of drawers with initials, "A. B." 1747, 
cut in it (Abby Boone), sister of Daniel Boone. 

M. D. Sculley, improved cant hook, combination hatchet, pipe, etc.; 
hoof trimmer; fish spear. 

H. M. Brooks, five skeins of home-made woolen yarn- 

Cup & Neyhart, Trout Run, turned specimens of native woods. 

Charles Ardell, copy of Lycoming Gazette, January 29, 1807, second 
oldest in the building. 

Abram Meyer, cedar case made with an ax and pocket knife; granite 
from Washington Monument, Big Round Top and Devil's Den; cipher 
code and signal badge; fuse holder and rings; hand-made nails; six 
Coins and medals; ten mineral specimens, rare; natural crystal of alumi- 
num; thirty-seven quartz crystals; five pieces of massive quartz, from 
Tioga and Lycoming, one piece containing gold, silver, copper, zinc and 
lead. Ten Indian relics, with spalls. Four Revolutionary and Gettys- 
burg relics. Geological Exhibit: Educational, glacial, fossil, lithologi- 
oal, mineral and diagrams pertaining to the same. Copy of the Lycom- 
ing Gazette, 1807. Framed Smithsonian and Russian acknowledgments 
of service rendered by Mr. Meyer. Eight sketches and papers obtained 
in the rebellion; autograph album, sketch book and blue prints of signal 



220 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

stations erected under the direction of Mr. Meyer during the rebellion, 
a very interesting exhibit. Twenty-six specimens of rocks and twelve 
plates of clay and shales. Fifty-four pieces prepared native woods; 
twelve transverse sections of wood; seventeen pieces of bark; eighteen 
transverse sections of bark; piece of birch burl. Twenty-four cards 
of native grasses. Framed acknowledgments of specimens of nagging 
stone, U. S. Department of Mines and Mining. Photograph of Geo- 
logical formation. Book of tracts, 1S00; "American Dispensary," 1806; 
old ink-stand and sand box, used prior to 1848; stamp used in sealing 
with wafers; short sword, used in the German Revolution, 184S; old 
spectacles; daguerreotype of Mr. Meyer; colored marble from the Capitol 
at Washington. 

Lewis Briggs Halstead. two pieces of artistic molding in iron, oast 
by Jacob Halstead in 1830; carved powder horn; iron tea kettle from 
Ireland; O. U. A. regalia, used by exhibitor in New York City, 1848-1850. 

W. S. English, old bayonet, 1772-1776. 

Joseph F. Reeder, two pairs of old-style crane hooks; old powder horn; 
flax heckle; old-style lamp; iron candlestick. 

Daniel Schoch, iron kettle brought from Germany in 1842; pewter 
plate; old-style chased watch, brought from England. 

Eldred — Edward Kiess, old German horse pistol; flint-lock gun, very 
old, and brought from Germany by the first Bloomingrove settlers- 

F. C. Kiess, quaint hymnbook, 1708; book, 1783; German Testament, 
1781; German book, 1742; Mitchell's Map of Pennsylvania, 1830; Jardiner, 
brought from Germany, 1804; hand-woven bed-spread; patch-work quilt; 
sun glass. 

Mrs. P. F. Waltz, silk shawl of "Ye Olden Times." 

Adam Finkbinder, hand bellows; fat lamp; old German history otf 
"True Religion;" old-fashioned apple peeler; reaping sickle. 

T. A. B laker, hand card and heckle. 

Amos Wilson, spoon molds. 

S. L. Casner, book, Persecution of the Quakers- 
Mrs. Mary Klump, old German Bible; Cobb's, Pike's and German 
arithmetics; German book, 1772; singing book, 1779. 

Mrs. A. F. Wilson, piece of wood from Crown Point; hook and ring; 
old-fashioned chair; flint-lock gun. 

Mrs. J. F- Derone, German birth certificate; old-fashioned tea can- 
ister and padlock. 

Byron Wilson, militia captain's sword; letters patent, 1795, and parch- 
ment indenture to his grandfather for the farm on which he now lives, 
1800. 

Mrs- Frank Chaapel, bread dish 110 years old. 

Mrs. Catharine Plank, three German books- 

Eph. Shaffer, German zither, 132 years old. 

H. E. Eismenenger, eleven different kinds of Columbian postage 
stamps, ranging in denomination from one cent to fifty. 

Mrs- Chauncey Chappell, coffee mill, 125 years old- 

C- D. Heim, piano made 75 years ago by John Gross for his brother 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 221 

Joseph, who is now 87 years old. The case is made of cherry and wal- 
nut and the keys yet send forth sweet tones when touched. He gave it 
to his granddaughter, Miss Susie Helm, who prizes it highly as a keep- 
sake. The home-made instrument occupied a position of honor among 
the modern pianos;, and on account of its age and unique appearance 
attracted much attention- 

Fairfield— Mrs. Harvey Reeder, tea pot, over 125 years; toaster, 125 
years; sword used in the Revolution; looking glass, very old. 

Miss Abbie Budd, side saddle, 125 years old; two copper urn-shaped 
kettles from Germany, 200 years; two china cups, 102 years. 

Upper Fairfield — Merrick Oborn, four largo wooden spoons'; wooden 
swingling knife, made by exhibitor. 

Mrs. John Klees, cushion; powder horn, with the name of Gen. John 
Burrows cut on it. 

Sarah Penitz, tinder box, marked "P. P." (Peter Pentz), her great 
great grandfather, a noted Indian fighter and Revolutionary scout of 
this section; also gun barrel, supposed to have belonged to him. 

John Keher, German Bible. 

Mrs. Phoebe Tallman, pewter plate, 120 years. 

Gamble' — M. H. Lowe, picture frame made while in front of Peters- 
burg, in 'the fall of 1864; Indian skinning stone, found on Saddle Hill, 
by Henry Southard, 1810; tin cup carried through the war by M. H. 
Lowe, Eighth Pennsylvania Cavalry; hymn book, got at Alexandria, 
spring of 1864; needle case carried through the war; inlaid box, made 
while in .hospital at Point Lookout, Maryland; parchment deed, 1792, to 
Henry Southard; hymn book printed in 1706; "A View of Hammond's 
General Hospital;" Military Tactics, used by Captain J. Salter Lowe; 
two volumes of "The Universal Gazette," printed in 1800; piece of petri- 
fied elk horn, found in the middle of a rock on the Well Mountain, Gam- 
ble Township; pair of spectacles, 140 years old, owned by Jacob Swartz; 
Confederate money; lead ore. 

Jenette Eston, chair 142 years old. 

Mns. Harman Van Horn, Bible dated 1756. 

Joseph Ulmer, Rose Valley, German Testament printed in 1686- 

Hepburn — Harvey Stiger, pair of shackles; wooden spring from old 
stage coach. 

James McGowen, old French army musket, brought and used by 
Jacob Schofield, one of General Lafayette's men, and used by his son 
William ini the war of 1812; wooden mortar and pestle, used for grind- 
ing corn; old pewter plate; Franklin Almanac, 1789; tinder box; Memoirs 
of Hannah Schofield, 1820. 

D. C. Ulmer, old flint-lock gun; long tin dinner horn; tin sausage 
stuffer; lard lamp with hook. 

Mrs- J- Dangel, Bunyon's "Holy War," German, 1795; Schatzkast- 
lein, printed in 1668; Lehrbucher fur die Jugend. 

Mrs. Jacob Bidelspacher, German Kirchen Gesang Buch, 1775; German 
Bible, 1736. 
28 



222 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Jacob Helm, linen pillow case; old picture; flax break, block and 
knife; two heckles; three bunches of flax; home-made sausage stuff er; 
four pieces home-made tape; gtraw box, 75 years old; fork from Ger- 
many in 1804 ; old land warrant and article of agreement. 

Mrs. Daniel Brucklacher, spinet, once owned by the family of Judge 
Anthony, made prior to 1795, and now in the possession of Mrs. William 
Emery, granddaughter; shovel and tongs- 
Jacob Ball, straw bee hive and bread basket, each 150 years old. 

Fred Shaffer, distaff and spindle. 

Charles F. Ulmer, two pieces of hand-spun and woven linen cloth, 
made by Miss Elizabeth Shaffer. 

Gottlieb Heim, piece of bagging twill pants cloth; three skeins of 
flax, linen and thread 70 years old; lard lamp; candlestick with figure 
of deer on it. 

J. B. Lutz, clock, 125 years old. 

S- H. Burr, small spinning wheel with bone trimmings, brought from 
England. 

C. F. Ulmer, two lard lamps; straw basket; German hand-ax; 
fluid lamp; two pefwter dishes; Latin Bible, 1715; German book, 1685; 
German herb book, 300 years old. 

Mrs. Jennie Ball Wright, sausage grinder, mode by George Ball, and 
one of the first in the community. 

William Shaffer, pair of bellows; tea pot; German reaping sickle and 
scythe; German Bible, 1711; two lard lamps and snuffers; old German 
shoemaker's hammer; French medal. 

Mrs. John A- Frey, German bake kettle; lard lamp; wedding cake 
59 years old. 

Lewis — Mrs. C. C. Heylman, dress, skirt, waist, collar and pin, hand- 
kerchief, reticule, all old-fashioned; straw bread basket one hundred 
years old. 

G- W. King, Trout Run, snuff box. very old. 

Limestone — John Beirs, sword belonging to John Beirs, used in the 
Revolutionary war. 

Houston Weidler, Rauchtown, screw used for hoisting mill stones 
in the first mill in Nippenose Valley; piece of petrified hickory; piece of 
marble from the tomb of Washington's mother. 

E. G. Showers, Rauchtown, handkerchief. 

J. W. Group, Rauchtown, Hawkin's rifle; two Johnson's diction- 
dries, 1756. 

Paul Bussler, Collomsville, rifle, 1713; buttons from George Wash- 
ington's coat; Indian tomahawk- 
Mrs- Cora Showers, Rauchtown, old Bull's-eye silver watch. 

Lizzie Chattem, Rauchtown, kettle 300 years old. 

M. G. Smith, powder horn of Michael Grove, brother of Peter Grove, 
the great Indian fighter, 110 years old. 

Mrs. M. J. Fravel, Rauchtown. old Bible. 

J. H. Gramling, Collomsville, shaving cup, very old. 

Dr A. T. Welker, Collomsville, eight old deeds, etc. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 223 

Joseph K liner, Collomsville, Barlow knife, 1760 on handle. 

Loyalsock — Carl Krugstaed, large silver heer mug, with lid, 1708, 
presented as a wedding gift in Germany. 

J. W. Kimball, gun made by Smith Kimball in Williamsport. 

W. G. McMurry, lard lamp, 100 years. 

Frank Koch, two Indian skeletons, together with iron tomahawk, 
scalping knife, two-quart brass kettle, beads, small open brass bells, 
two curious shaped glass bottles, brass crucifix and signet ring, wire 
bracelets, medal, box Vermillion. These articles were found by Mr. 
Koch about three feet under ground when excavating a cellar at Sand 
Hill, near the Limestone Hotel, in 1894. 

Miss Elizabeth Shale, small, oak chest brought from Germany, 1804, 
Iby Frederick Shale, one of the original Economises, who left the party 
on arriving in America because they determined on celibacy; two cloth 
purses, brought from Germany in 1804. 

Fred L. Kramer, taxidermist, fine collection of stuffed native birds, 
6quirrelsi rabbits, etc., about fifty specimens. 

Joseph Schuyler, small log cabin bottle used in the first Harrison 
campaign. 

McHenry — Thomas Baker, of Jersey Mills, two copper coins, English 
money. Value, four cents, and two cents, respectively. 

Muncy Township— Jacob Rodgers, sun-dial, marked "Samuel Rod- 
gers, 1802;" pitcher belonging to the early Rodgers family. 

Mrs. Jane Webster, lacquered box; lacquered bowl; china bowl and 
cocoanut fibre quilt from the Sandwich Islands. 

Miss Julia Butler, commission from Governor Snyder to John But- 
ler; book containing the names of Annie Clifford, Rachel Pole, Jane 
Hood and Mary Butler; daguerreotypes of John and Mary Butler; large 
pftcher brought from Canada. It had been sent from England, among 
other things, to encourage the settlers. Indian beaded hunting bag, 
presented to her mother by an Indian visitor near Halls, 100 years ago; 
beaded bag; old blue china platter. 

Thomas Robb, several Indian relics. 

Eliza Lauchle, china pitcher and plate, very old. 

Miss Jane Eves, Brazilian coin; pair of beaded moccasins; china 
platter, 100 years. 

Mrs- Frank Ort, old coins. 

Mrs. Sarah E. Whitacre, queer vegetable dish; grape leaf dish; plate, 
once owned by John Adlum, deputy surveyor general of the province; 
manuscript journal of James Kiteley, first schoolmaster in Lycoming 
County, and early Q,uaker preacher at Pennsdale; photograph of the 
old Simpson homestead; parchment document of 1781; history of Scot- 
land, 1728; old Euclid, belonging to Benjamin Simpson; coin scale, be- 
longing to Benjamin Simpson; collection of almanacs, Franklin's, owned 
by James Kiteley, 1761; book, 1776. 

Mrs. John Swank, coin detector. 

Mrs. Peter Narber, a quaint old pitcher. 



224 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs- Rose Swartz, china sugar bowl, very old. 

Miss Mary Whitacre, Quaker coffee pot. 

Miss Annie Artley, bed warmer; green plate, descended from the 
Adlum family. 

Miss Susan R. Saul, daguerreotype of Susan Butler Saul; Washing- 
ton pickle plates, from the set presented by Washington to his step- 
daughter, Nellie Curtis Lee, and taken from the Lee homestead at Ar- 
lington, the balance of the set being in the museum at Washington; 
home-made woolen coverlet, woven by Lowmiller, at Muncy; hand 
woven linen tablecloth; homespun linen sheet; $2.00 Continental money 

Miss Sue M- Mendenhall, black letter English Bible, printed at Lon- 
don, 1613, containing family record of Carltons and Mendenhalls from 
1650; ancient needle book; declaration of anti-slavery convention, 1833; 
President Jefferson's message, March 4, 1805, printed on silk handker- 
chief. 

Miss Lilly Mendenhall, silk skirt, made from the wedding dress of 
Lydia Carlton Mendenhall, who raised, spun and wove the silk, and 
sent it to London to be colored and woven. 

Miss Susan L. Haines daguerreotype of Thomas Haines, 1812, who 
lived to be 100 years old; portrait of Mary Haines Kiteley; portrait of 
Mercy Ellis, a noted Quaker preacher and philanthropist; sampler of 
Rachel Ellis, 1800; shell from the Sea of Tiberias; sampler worked 
by Mary Ecroyd ,1834; sampler, "An Emblem of Love;" stone from the 
Bridge of Sighs, Venice. 

William Ellis Haines, portrait of Reuben Haines. 

James Ecroyd, book of John Adlum's. 

Miss Belle Ort, Indian relic. 

Pennsdale Y. W. C. T- U-, photograph of Y. W. C. T. U. Hall, built by 
the young ladies. 

Mrs. Kirk Russel, sugar bowl and cream cup, over 100 years. 

Mrs. E. W. Warner, book printed by Benjamin Franklin, Deborah 
Kiteley's book. 

Miss Sarah Ecroyd, L- T. L. banner. 

Miss Carrie Kirk, large acorn-shaped earthen jar, used for keeping 
fruit by covering it with bladder and burying it in the ground; very 
old and curious. 

Muncy Creek — Mrs. Elisha Younkin, law book, London, 1703- This 
was the first exhibit placed in the hands of the chairmaji. 

Nippenose — Colonel George Washington Crane, oil portrait of Wash- 
ington; two leather covered arm chairs; box containing decanter and 
glasses; lamp; brass knocker. These articles belonged to General 
Gosler, of York, Pa-, a member of Washington's staff, and at whose 
residence Washington was a frequent guest, and were all used by him- 
Musket and bayonet used in Mexican war; long handle brass warm- 
ing pan; Mrs. Crane's wedding dress, slippers and bonnet, which she 
also wore at the celebration of their golden wedding. Colonel Crane's 
sword used in the Mexican war; mounted head of deer killed by Colonel 
Crane in Nippenose bottom. 
Pine — Stephen Rogers, bear skull, labeled "first settler;" elk horn, 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 225 

found eighteen inches under ground; "Pilgrim's Progress," 1805; "Par- 
adise Lost," 1837; "Reader," 1823; "History of the Quakers," 1770; Wil- 
liam Penn Grammar, 1815; Key to Grammar, 1823; Arithmetic, 1826;; Blue 
Laws, 1833; Testament, 1825. 

John Meyers, old flint-lock rifle- 
Robert N. Carson, sabre, relic of the French and Indian war. 
O. J. Graham, Oregon Hill, double-barreled flint-lock gun, very rare; 
old-fashioned razor, made by a blacksmith, with wooden handles; silver 
25 cent piece, 1818; George the Second penny, 1797; Spanish silver coin, 
1776; copper coin, 1787, rare coins. 

Washington — Mrs. George Dewald, Elimsport, vegetable table set, 
consisting of a six-sided central tureen, round which were arranged 
four covered and two open smaller dishes, each piece independent, but 
the whole fitting together, making centerpiece. It was very odd and 
attracted much attention. Handkerchief fifty years old; coverlet. 

Wolf — Mrs. George Sterner, large German painted pipe; pewter 
soup tureen, over one hundred years old. 

Frank Rynearson, small wooden mortar and pestle; pitcher; small 
wooden bucket and butter ladle, which once belonged to Joseph Web- 
ster; homespun linen; wooden cuff buttons; large Indian skinner and 
ceremonial stone. 

BOROUGHS— HUGHESVIDLE. 

Miss Jack, collection of 114 souvenir spoons,, of great variety 
and interest. Among them was one in honor of Pennsylvania's 
"War Governor," Andrew G- Curtin. There were a number of other 
articles, but as the book containing the list was not returned, although 
repeated requests were made, they cannot be given, nor the names 
of the contributors stated. 

JERSEY SHORE. 

Mrs. Jane Knox Russell, old picture; book of poems published at 
Carlisle in 1805, containing the names of subscribers, many of whom 
belonged to old Lycoming families. 

Mrs. C. E. King, sugar bowl, 1804; trammel brought from Ireland. 

Mrs. John Fitzgerald, jug from Germany. 

Mrs. Elsie Wilson, Life of John Flavel. 

Mrs. Patterson, shoe buckles; Japanese sword; two portraits. 

Mrs. J. N. Slonaker, old pitcher, spoon and dish. 

Mrs. W. R- Peoples, British Review; two volumes of Dr. Joseph 
Priestley's Lectures. 

Miss Rebecca Garman, old dish; flax and mug from Germany; glass 
mug; silk lace shawl; needle book; towel; table cloth; very old clock- 

Miss M. Quigley, Romance of The Forest; works of Thomas Payne. 

Rev. J. T. Gladhill, Dr. Priestley's Tracts; Works of John Thomp- 
son, early edition; Looking Unto Jesus, early edition. 

Daniel Smith, curious pipe. 

Miss Hannah Turk, home-made coverlet. 



226 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. John Gallagher, two old-fashioned caps; bridal dress of Eliza 
Gallagher. 

Mrs. John Blackwell, gold locket. 

Mrs. C. Glover, tea canister; razor. 

Mrs. Albert Poust, pewter plate. 

Miss Jennie Grier, baby dress. 

Mrs. Hannah Bacon, old linen; gaiters. 

Miss Margaret Calvert, life preserver; flint-lock gun; saddle-bags. 

Mrs. W. F. Smith, currency picture. 

Mrs. John Mowry, old platter. 

Mrs. Morrison, old spoon^ 

Mrs. M. Parker, picture. 

Joseph Dingier, gold button. 

The Misses Carpenter, old book. 

Mrs. H. H. Martin, Revolutionary cartridge box; sampler; horn 
spoon; four old silver spoons; Empire dress pattern; flax; saddle-bags; 
old-fashioned vest; baby dress; cap; two old time silk veils; embroid- 
ered shawl; lace net armlets and mitts; silk apron; bead reticule; shell 
card case; oil calico quilt; hand linen counterpane; home-made cover- 
let; linen sheets; linen tablecloth; linen shirt; fan; straw bread basket; 
hand cards; foot warmer; bead purse; cloak clasps; snuff box; bellows; 
bowl; old time dress; breastpin; collar and under sleeves; Bible; Old 
Medical Work; Dictionary; Arithmetic; Book of Sermons; Life of 
George Washington; Hewitt's Tables; Works of Lawrence Sterne. 

Mrs. John S. Tomb, two old-fashioned waists; Masonic apron; sam- 
pler; embroidery. 

Mrs. Robert McCullough, picture and plate. 

Miss Eveline Humpton, cup and saucer; linen pillow and table- 
cloth. 

Mrs. Robert H. Grier, portrait of Rev. John Grier. 

Miss Mannie Slonaker, portrait. 

Mrs. Henry Morlock, pewter platter; straw bee hive. 

Mrs- E. D. Trump, old-fashioned waffle iron. 

Mrs. S- Sample, paper weight; scarf. 

Mrs. Catharine Keyser, bottle; heckle, brought up the river in a keel 
boat. 

Robert McMullin, handkerchief. 1688. 

Harry H. Martin and John S. Humes, 148 arrow heads, 18 tomahawk 
heads and two specimens of Indian pottery. 

Mrs. Susannah P. Gilbert, old-fashioned earthenware tea pot which 
belonged to Mrs. Catharine Marshall, of Mifflin Township, who was 
her grandmother. It is over one hundred years old. 

MUNCY. 

Dr. William Hayes, $1,000 and $500 Confederate bonds; Richmond 
Enquirer, 1864, at $50.00 per year; Rebel envelopes found at Port Sum- 
ter; $17.00 in Confederate money, taken from the pocket of Jeff Davis 
at the time of capture; diploma signed by "Stonewall' Jackson. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 227 

Mrs. George Stoltz, snuff box; pair of old-fashioned spectacles; old 
wedding veil; plate with Franklin maxims- 

Dr. G- G- Wood, Indian corn pounder; cannon ball found at Fort 
Muncy, made of wrought iron; Pringle on Diseases of the Army, 1753, 
London, carried through the Revolution by Dr. James Davidson, sur- 
geon oif the Fifth Continental Battalion. 

J. M. Bowman, Jr., paper printed at Vicksburg during the siege, 
1863, on the blank side of common wall paper, the day before the sur- 
render; very curious. 

Mrs. Margaret Edwards, inaugural address; samplers. 

Mrs. Thomas Clapp, Taufschein, (German birth certificate). 

John Winters, old certificate of birth. 

Robert Robb, four parchment deeds of the seventeenth century; two 
commissions to Robert Robb as justice of the peace in Colonial times; 
old letter from Governor Mifflin to Robert Robb, Esq., 1795; Laws of 
Penn, 1700. 

Mrs. Thomas Painter, parchment deed; bead reticule. 

Mrs- J. Roan Barr, bureau cover; pocket-book; needle-book; heir- 
looms of Samuel Wallis. 

Mrs. M. J. Levan, old-fashioned bonnet; book of fashions, very 
early; parchment deed, last century; old book; hand woven bed spread; 
bed curtains; sampler; letter and sampler of muslin; group of Muncy 
boys, taken during the war; Bible 325 years old; portraits of Col. William 
Cooke and Jacob Cooke. 

Mrs. Robert K. Reeder, pewter plate; old hand bellows. 

Mrs. William Smith, small pewter plate. 

Mrs. C- C. Clapp, neckerchief, velvet reticule and old velvet purse; 
Taufschein; tomahawk found at Fort Muncy. 

Mrs- O- McCarty, piece of bull's-eye glass. 

N. D- Green, old Geography, 200 years old; pewter plate; iron candle 
stand six feet high, with arms for three candles- 

Miss Crouse, $8.00 state money; pewter plate; china plate 150 years 
old; china cup and saucer, very old. 

Mrs. Samuel Sprout, Testament 200 years old; came from Holland; 
table-spoon 150 years old. 

Mrs- H. Cable, salt cellar 150 years old. 

Mrs. J. Brewer, home woven coverlet. 

Mrs. F. W. Robbins, tea pot 150 years old; old-fashioned cups and 
saucers. 

Mrs. L. E. Schuyler, old-fashioned blue plate, very pretty- 
Mrs. Gudykunst, old silver dessert and tea spoons; carpet bag 90 
years old. 

Mrs- Corson, mallet made from ship Augusta, which was under 
water a hundred years- 
Mrs. Fannie H- Petrikin, large old-fashioned bonnet; silver tank- 
ard; two linen shirts with ruffles; three old-fashioned caps; pair white 
wedding slippers worn by Mary Hbllingswoith; grandmother's satin 
slippers. 

Miss Mary Painter, cap 80 years old; two china fruit dishes, very 
old- 



228 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. W. P. I. Painter, small trunk 300 years old; old marriage, 
confirmation and baptismal certificates. 

Mrs. D- B- Dykins, cup and saucer; two plates, old china. 
Mrs. C- Bodine, old earthenware sugar bowl and cream pot; pewter 
coffee pot. 

Mrs. John Stauffer, old brass candlestick and snuffers. 
Mrs- Downing, old china tea pot and sugar bowl. 
Miss Sarah Edwards, old-fashioned parasol- 
Miss S. Bruner, old smoothing iron. 
Mrs. Reltner, brass smoothing iron; brass lantern- 
Miss S. Shoemaker, linen towel, spun and woven by her great great 
grandmother. 

Mrs. John Sheridan, old time fluting iron. 

Miss> Sarah Wallis, long-handled warming pan; small oil portrait of 
Dr. Samuel Wallis; five daguerreotypes, viz: Gen. Hugh Brady (son 
of Capt. John Brady), and wife, nee Miss Sarah Wallis, at 27, a woman 
of surpassing loveliness; Dr- Samuel Wallis, Hannah Wallis, son and 
daughter, Samuel Wallis, Lydia Hollingsworth, wife of Samuel Wal- 
lis, the pioneer- 
Miss McCarty, high shell comb- 
Mis.: Catharine Harp, old brass tea-kettle; German wooden horn, 150 
years old; silver knee buckles, 200 years old- 

Miss Amy Musser, very old church stove for warming feet. 
F. W. Robblns, Indian knife sheath; tobacco pouch and pair of 
moccasins. These articles were taken from Indians killed at the 
battle of the Big Horn, at the time of the Custer massacre, by a mem- 
ber of Reno's command. Property of Mrs. J. C. Fetterhoof, of North 
Platte, Neb. Curious ornamented brass box I%x5, commemorating 
a victory of Frederick the Great; brass candlestick, snuffers and tray, 
very old; piece of molding from a passenger car that carried Lincoln's 
body to Springfield; pair of Buffalo horns, weathered, or as found on 
the plains, and a pair of the same polished; buffalo vertebra; old brass 
horse pistol. 

B. W. Harris, small oil portrait of his grandfather, Benjamin Harris. 
E- E- Hyler, "The Nettie," a little schooner fore and aft rigged, 
made by a one armed man with a pen knife. 

Mrs- J. M. M. Gernerd, home-made linen, embroidered towel. 
Judge C. D. Eldred, pane of bull's-eye glass, made at Eagles Mere 
at the beginning of the century, by the Englishman Lewis. 

Daniel S. Ritter, collection of paper money in a frame, ranging in 
denomination from three cents to fifty, all original issues; large frame 
containing from 50 cents to a $1,000, original issues of greenbacks and 
treasury notes; gold coins from the octagonal $50 gold piece, minted at 
San Francisco, (very rare), and 25 cent gold piece made at the same 
place, up through the several issues of gold coin of the United States, 
including the thin ones, face value over $500; all the silver dollars, and 
minor silver coins; large copper cents and the half cents; and many 
rare foreign coins, mint proofs, etc. This collection was made up 
largely of new coins, and the series were usually unbroken. It con- 
•talnekl about all of the most valuable of American coins and num- 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 229 

bered about one thousand pieces, valued at several thousand dollars, 
and were selected from Mr. Ritter's large and valuable collection. 

Mr. Ritter gave the exhibit his personal attention each day and 
took great pleasure in explaining the merits of his exhibit to interested 
spectators. This was one of the most interesting, and by far the most 
valuable, exhibit at the exposition. 

B. K. Johnson, two Confederate bonds, $1,000 each; four $500 each, 
and one blank, and report to Treasurer of Confederate States for $1,892. 

MONTGOMERY. 

L. C- Kinsey, old copy of Lycoming Gazette; portrait of John Kinsey. 

Mrs. Cal. Mackey, book of Lorenzo Dow; Bible, 1771- 

Joseph McCormick, "Confession of Faith;" early history of the 
United States. 

William Sechler, weaver's reel and cane, very old. 

Mrs. Thomas McWilliams, old black handle knife, with short blade. 

Orin Hoof, old sword, carried through the Revolutionary war. 

Ed- Menges, sword, sheath and straps used in the war of 1812- 

Pierce Fowler, old German Bible; straw basket; manuscript book, 
"Record of Voyage from Cape Henlopen to Gibraltar in 1732," by 
Thomas Coatan. 

John Piatt, sword with initials "D. E." 

J. L. Miller, sword, date July 4, 1776, used in the Revolution. 

Mrs. A- S- Rhodes, dough trough, candlestick and pewter plate, 100 
years- 

T. L. Phlegar, automatic seat lock, patented. 

\V. D- Meyers, old-fashioned lard lamp. 

William Stoflin, tomahawk found on the battle-field of Gettysburg. 

Mrs. C. R. Lilly, embroidered apron and silk wedding dress, 245 years 
each; quilt, 104; sampler, 92. 

PICTURE ROCKS. 

J. P. Little, old pocket knife- 
Mrs. Simon Musgrave, silk campaign handkerchief. 

Joseph Little, pair of scales; old Bible. 

Mrs. Sarah Evans, old Bible. 

Peter Vanderbilt, curious quilt; saddle and rump bags; two old 
Bibles; old-fashioned coffee mill. 

Mrs- C. M. Longbay, set andirons and tongs; pewter plate. 

Charles Little, two books; fork handle; Wade club. This club was 
used by Nelson E. Wade when he murdered the McBrides to get their 
hoarded gold and silver, near Williamsport, in 1873. Wade was hanged 
November 6, 1873. 

Mrs. Kennedy, sword used in the Mexican war. 

Williami Rodgers, Rooky Mountain elk skin; cannon ball; Indian 
meat stone. 

W. W. Beck, bomb shell; three volumes of Descriptive Geography, 
accompanied by a volume of copper plates; book. 
29 



230 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

G- W. Moiyneux, pair of socks and spinning stick. The socks were 
knit by an aged lady, who carded and spun the wool with the spinning 
stick alone, which is simply a sanall stick with or.e end partially burned. 

J- Wesley Little (studio in New York), four water colors, and one 
oil landscape'. 

Herbert Arnold, pair of Canadian snow shoes. 

Mrs. G. D. Sprout, three photographs of Picture Rocks. 

MONTOURSVILLE. 

Mrs. S- Mendenhall, Bible; scales for weighing gold; fruit dishes; 
cream jug; feather from "Old Abe;" two samplers; piece of homespun 
silk. 

Miss Rosa Steinhelper, old blue tureen and gravy bowl; linen towel; 
lard lamp- 

Mrs. J. M. Snyder, old blue tea pot, sugar bowl and creamer. 

Miss Nellie Smith, large palm leaf brought from California. 

Mr. A. Dieffenbaugh, old silver watch. 

Mrs. N. B- Harman, horse pistol. 

Mrs. William Hall, silver pen and holder; ivory pen holder. 

Miss Minnie Sypher, German lamp. 

Charles Clees, apple parer, very old. 

Miss Clara Konkle, alarm clock; chair, 150 years. 

W. W. Champion, law book, 1792; piece of cement from magazine of 
Fort Augusta, Sunbury, built in 1766, by Colonel Clapham, an English 
engineer, to protect the frontier. 

Miss Janet Petrikin, pair untlersleeves; emery box; wall pocket; 
child's lace cap; Geography, 1788; dish; Quaker bonnet; spectacles; 
writing desk; trunk; two samplers; shawl; reticule; two pictures of the 
Hollingsworths- 

Mrs- John Heiny, cup and saucer. 

Mrs. M. Sweely, pewter plate; log cabin plate; stock collar; shawl; 
turkey plate; quilt. 

Mrs. L. Nichols, log cabin; glass dish and small plate. 

Mrs. B- Fowler, old silver spoons- 

Mrs. M. Rowe, coffee pot. 

Charles Lundy, coverlet. 

Mrs. W. Judson, plate, coffee pot and pitcher- 

Miss H- Unangst, shawl. 
Mrs- F. R. Konkle, silver spoons. 

Mrs. Dr. Konkle, first shoes worn by her father. 

Mrs. George Brass, book dated January, 1821; Revolutionary com- 
imission. 

Mrs- I. F. Stetler, tea table cover, table cloth, sampler, linen towel 
and German lamp. 

Mrs. W. Paulhamus, plate; sampler; portraits of Gen. John Burrows, 
Mrs. Burrows. 

Miss Mary Williams, pewter soup dish, tea pot, blue tureen; her 
grandmother's wedding slippers; knife; cradle, 100 years old. 

Mrs. S. Bennett, papers, 106 years old; queue. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 231 

Miss Jennie Lucas, marble Bible. 

Miss A. Novensky, jar brought from Russia, 75 years, old. 

Mrs- Dr. Lyon, watch; Judge Anthony's arm chair. 

Miss Jennie Else, earthen jar, 1820. 

Mrs. W. Allen, tray, cup and saucer; powder horn; tonrrs; Britannia 
tea set (five pieces); blue bowl; three brass candlesticks, very old. 

Mrs. James Fisher, jewel casket brought from France, 150 years old- 
Mr. Mott, two brass candlesticks. 

Mrs. Collins Hall, old iron kettle. 

Mrs. Will Fisher, book. 

George Burrows, powder horn, which belonged to Gen. John Bur- 
rows. 

Mrs. Lena Robbins, bowl and tea canister. 

Mrs- K. A. Huston, pewter platter, 150 years old. 

Mrs. W. Stugart, pepper box and old book. 

Mrs. M. McEwen, pewter soup dish. 

Mrs. S. S- Blackwell, pocketbook. 

Mrs. George Hall, old book- 
Mrs. James Bennett, old pitcher. 

Miss Sarah Sunderland, bread basket. 

Mrs. Daniel Reeder, lantern, old. 

Mrs- Mary Peters, lamp, very old- 
Mrs. Henry Peters, shawl. 

Mrs. John Bower, salt cellar. 

Charles C. Mayr, needlework picture, brought from Germany. 

Mrs. George Hyde, iron kettle, 150 years old. 

Miss Relbecca Griggs, card basket, Japanese pickles, wood chop 
sticks, two embroidered black silk aprons, two embroidered scarfs, 
two shawls, green and drab, and large black silk veil- Blue stone 
ware, seven pieces; bronze pitcher; picture of William Rodgers; bead 
watch guard; lamp mat; seven pieces of china; very old purse. 

Michael Hofer, ivory tipped spinning wheel, brought from England, 
and used for spinning flax. 

James Rishel, two medicine bottles and crucible. 

Mrs. James Harding, lace pillow, pins and bobbins, with piece of 
lace in construction, brought from England by Mr. Harding's mother. 

G. H. Wolliver, shoes; stocks; four old papers; girdle. 

H. W. Petrikin, blunderbuss, or short barrel, large mouthed gun, 
used in the Mexican war. 

SALLADASBURG. 

Elmer Thomas, spoon, 100 years old. 

John G- Seigle, curved sword or rapier, with date 1414, of Flemish 
make, and supposed to have been used in the last crusade. 

Jacob Metzger, pipe 110 years old, from Wurtemburg, Germany; 
ladies' lantern, 90 years old. 

Mrs- Elmei Thomas, spoon, 100 years old- 

Maggie Smith, doll, 50 years- 

F. W. Fetter, tablecloth, 50 years; homespun linen towel, 60 years; 



232 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

album, from Germany, 69 years; Taufschein of Henry Newcomer, 
93 years. 

Rollin McClarin, pounded iron spoon, purchased by T. C. Longan, in 
1831; Mitohel's Traveler's Guide of the United States, 65 years. 

Mrs. Rosencrans, Indian war club, found in 1890; stock, 75 years. 

Mrs- Emma Williamson, smoothing iron, bought in England in 1807, 
and brought to America in 1837, by Phoebe Bethel. 

Mrs. W. W. Reese, tea-spoon made of coin silver 96 years ago, by 
Hannah Stover, grandmother of Mrs.. Reese- 
Mrs. John Confair, pair of gloves, 100 years. 

Mr. Russell, newspaper, with an account of Lee's surrender. 

Nettie Gildersleeve, papers, 33 years old- 

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT. 

Mrs. John Hunt, bureau scarf, belt buckle and cullender, all over 100 
'years. 

Mrs- Daniel Thomas, Bible bag and bonnet brush. 

Mrs. Thomas Kutz, large platter, over 100 years. 

Mrs. A. E. Scholl, mortar and pestle; three Indian pictures; old 
Bible. 

Mrs. Frederick Beiier, zinc plate 100 years- 
Mrs- M. C- Schlech, pieced quilt, 150 years- 

Mrs. H. Jarrett, knife, 200 years- 

Mrs. H. C. Whi taker, china plate, 80 years; doughnut cutter, 107 
•years. 

Mrs. John Kuntz, tea canister, 90 years. 

Mrs. L. H. Brady, pair of snuffers. 

Mrs. Agnes Grief, oM thimble- 
Mrs. David Jones, old pitcher. 

Mrs. E. M. Fishier, piece of rare lace. 

Mrs. William Sweely, tea pot, 150 years old; two table-spoons; five 
cups, very old; deeds and other aged papers; ruffled shirt front and 
baby cap. 

Mrs. Ella Strunk, silk shawl- 

Miss Anna Bentley, silk saque and night cap. 

Miss Sallie Lloyd, of Angelica, N. Y., painted quilt; doll baby; pair 
of old-fashioned stays- 

Mrs. E. S. Watson, plate, 90 years; Masonic apron, 150 years. 

Earnest Page, small working engine, made by himself. 

Mrs- Lewis Schmouder, pewter plate, 120 years. 

Mrs. W. R. Mulligan, sugar bowl, very curious; brought from Ire- 
land; more than 100 years old. 

Mrs. Hiram Bardo, pitcher, 125 years; knapsack. 

Mrs. Hugh Miller, picture of two quails, 100 years. 

Mrs. A- E- Middleton, coverlet, 75; two spoons, 125 years. 

Mrs- W- H. Fillman, linen tablecloth; two linen towels; two pieces 
drawn work; small tin cup. 

Mrs- S. J. Turner, linen apron, 80 years. 

Mrs. Francis Miller, Cicero's Oration, 1792- 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 233 

Miss Libbie Van Dyke, old Bible, 100 years. 

Mrs. P. Hain, old chest; photograph. 

Mrs. John McDonough, photograph; sugar bowl; two sugar spoons; 
vegetable dish; tin lantern; packet bell, a triangular piece of steel 
about three feet long, mounted on a frame and struck with a hammer. 

Mrs. S. Calvert, plate, old. 

Mr. and Mra L. A. Esslingler, copy of Lycoming Gazette, dated 
1810; pewter plate. 

Mrs. Henry Kolbe, tea pot, two forks, knife and spoon, all very old. 

Mrs. Johnston, German prayer book; shoe horn. 

Mrs. Charles Wise, copper kettle. 

Mrs. John Jarrett, dish tub. 

Mrs. Clarence Miller, California red wood; wreath of sea moss. 

Mrs- John Baskin, two water color portraits. 

Mrs. Jacob Fillman, three dresses, 100 years; two handkerchiefs; 
old style high comb. 

Miss Lydia Wise, chimney lard lamp. 

Mrs. W. H. George, lard lamp. 

Mrs. Samuel Wise, pitcher, 150 years. 

Miss Sallie Weigle, china cup. 

Miss Amminda Weigle, cup and saucer, 150 years. 

Mrs- W- G- Edkins, old-time infant dress. 

Mrs. Daniel Weigel, china plate; book, The Leviathans; letter 
dated October 14, 1786- 

Mrs. Christian Sump, linen table cover, towel and apron. 

Miss Lizzie McGhee, bottle, 125 years. 

Mrs. J. C. Fry, brass candlestick from Wales. 

Mrs. Kate Kramer, pair of pitchers from Ireland, 150 years. 

Mrs- Valentine Luppert, pewter soup tureen and plate from Ger- 
many, 110 years; towel, 60 years old. 

Mrs. Michael Welker, coffee mill, 115 years; platter. 

Mrs. G. W. Groom, butter bowl made from a hickory knot; brass 
candlestick, 60 years. 

Mrs. Charlotte Plankenhorn, very old platter. 

Mrs- J. L. Burke, bottle used as a canteen in the late war- 
Mrs. Mary Lambert, wooden article made in a French prison by a 
life convict, 115 years. 

Mrs. C- A. McQuay, soup tureen brought from Brazil 125 years ago- 

Mrs. E. G. Rice, child's crocheted dress. 

Mrs. Catharine Schlegan, towel made in Germany 188 years ago; 
apron, 70 years. 

Mrs. A. Bostley, colored coverlet. 

Mrs. John Van Sickle, blue platter; old doll baby. 

Mrs. Thomas Trafford, brass cullender, 200 years. 

Mrs- W. S. Evans, brass candlestick- 
Mrs. D. P. Billman, sampler, 80 years. 

Mrs. Kate Ertle, tablecloth, .60 years. 

Mrs. John Kerlin, towel and centre-piece, made in 1824. 

Mrs. George Beagly, tea pot, 150 years; pearl-handle razor, 200 years; 
linen sheet and sash. 



234 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. Lauris Larson, Swedish spice box; wine bottle, 90 years. 

Miss Alice Shultz, plate, 90 years- 

Mrs. Edward Shannon, china pitcher, 200 years. 

Mrs. Octave Lezzotte, tea cup, brought from Canada 150 years ago. 

Mrs. Jerry Mishoe, cream pitcher, brought from Ireland 95 years ago. 

Mrs. Daniel Kusbe, mug, 100 years old. 

Mrs. Charles Johnston, Swedish bonnet. 

Mrs. Samuel Harman, coverlet; prayer book. 

Mr. E. S. Phillips, rifle, which belonged to the Anteses. 

Mrs. George Bonner, pair of antlers and griddle. 

Mrs. Otto Schleibner, beer mug and corks. 

Mrs- Philip Steinbacher, pair of scissors, 150 years. 

D- K. Overheiser and Hayes McEwen, old Cremona violin, 1601, cap- 
tured by Knapp's battery in Virginia. 

Mrs. Charles Taylor, looking-glass, pitcher and piece of turf from 
Ireland. 

Mrs. Francis Hammerstein, picture of George Washington and wife. 

Mrs. John Johnson, shawl brought from Sweden 70 years ago. 

Mrs. J. S- Koltz, two old dishes. 

Henry K. Schade, two dresses worn seventy-one years ago by Mrs. 
Knobe; her wedding cloak. 

Mrs. W D. Crooks, knit quilt. 

Mrs. Charles Eichbaum, Indian bow and ten arrows; Turkish slip- 
pers; Indian moccasins. 

Miss Rodearmel, silk shawl, 150 years. 

Mrs. Frederick Schlag, chair, 100 years old. 

Mrs. Solomon Schneider, clock, 100 years. 

Mrs. E. S. Phillips, pieced bed quilt, 105 years; tea-kettle; old stand; 
History of the Bible, abridged. 

Mrs. C. H- Hand, book of Common Prayer. 

G. B. Shatto, miniature nail machine in perfect working order, with 
tools, nail kettle and perfectly formed nails, made on the machine. The 
machine is 3x5 inches, made by the exhibitor by hand. 

Lawrence Keller, book, 110 years old; yarn reel. 

Miss Lulu McGhee, tumbler and bowl, 55 years old. 

D. V- Smith, display of scenic photographs, 25 local; picture of Mich- 
ael G. Smith, living grandson of Michael Grove, of Indian fame. 

Mrs. Emma Smith, cream pitcher, 58 years old. 

Mrs- Willard Wise, two books and paper. 

August Koch, the well-known taxidermist and authority on the 
native birds of America, exhibited the following mounted specimens, 
.casts, etc., from his collection, which is one of the finest and largest 
private collections of the kind in the United States: 

Case of animals, containing prairie wolf, Texas wild cat, Texas 
wild pig or peccary, raccoon, badger, fox, opossum, vargable and 
wood hare, prairie dog, western and southern fox; squirrels, our com- 
mon black, gray and pine. The palm squirrel of Ceylon, India, especially, 
was a notewoTthy specimen. Fish otters, cub bear, fishes, turtles, alliga- 
tors and snakes, some as mounted specimens and others as plaster casts, 
which casts are cast in plaster from the natural specimens and artisti- 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 235 

cally colored to reproduce the tints of the living specimens. Good casts 
generally surpass the stuffed or mounted specimens of this class in 
natural appearance. 

The stuffed specimens of the latter class consisted of different sizes 
of alligators from six inches to six feet; Florida gopher and a number 
of other species of turtles, fishes and snakes. The casts represented 
fishes, snakes, lizards and fruit. 

Of the fishes, casts of various German carp, gar-pike and needle 
fish of Florida; mountain trout and other fish from Pennsylvania were 
especially noteworthy. 

The collection of snakes, both mounted and casted, comprised the 
following species: Rattle-snake (black and yellow), blowing viper 
(expanded and at rest), milk and garter snakes, copperhead, black-snake 
(7 feet), water snake, moccasin and coral snake of Florida; the latter is 
a small snake rarely over two feet in length, but of a beautiful appear- 
ance, ornamented with rings of scarlet, deep yellow and glassy blue- 
black encircling the body. 

NEWBERRY- WILLI AMSPORT. 

Miss Laura Updegraff, deeds 100 years old and over; butter knife of 
the McBrides, who were murdered by Wade. 

Miss Mame Nicely, spoon, 100 years old, carried all through the late 
war. 

Andrew Meyers, hymn book, belonging to his Grandmother Hicks; 
compass, candlestick and letter, very old. 

Robert Caldwell, old watch and chain; Bible, very old. 

Miss Jenneitte Campbell, tea pot; two old machine cases; candlestick, 
tray and snuffers; sugar bowl and cream pitcher; cup and saucer; cake 
cover, all over 100 years; rnelodeon 185 years old; a mirror, once the 
property of Prince Charles, the Pretender. 

Mrs. G. H. Slear, cream pitcher, 78 years. 

Mrs. C. E- Cassidy, pair of fire tongs. 

N. T. Riley, old Lycoming Gazette. 

Miss Annie Toner, tea pot, 150 years old. 

Mrs. Hughlett, spoon carried through the late war. 

Mrs. James Shuler, tidy worked by her grandmother in 1839. 

D- C- Barnhart, anchor for boat owned by Valentine King; lard 
lamp. 

Mrs. P. M. Fisher, four pieces of china, 125 years; candle molds; cream 
pitcher; cup and saucer, all very old. 

Mrs. E. Lamm, sewing machine, one of the first; plate 115 years; old 
rnelodeon. 

E. E. Ebert, small canal boat, made by hand with a jack-knife. 

L- Mahaffey, cane over 100 years; almanacs 1803, 1805, 1811. 

Mrs. Fred. Oberfell, account ledger, 1795. 

Mrs. G. D. Leonard, andirons belonging to Mrs. Leonard's great 
grandfather. 

Miss Pearl Good, spinning wheel and table belonging to Miss Letitia 
Sutton, daughter of Amariah Sutton. 



236 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. A. H. Antrim, earthen dish, 80 years; bed quilt, 115 years; two 
glass dishes 85 years; clock, 1839. 

Mrs. S. Border, cup and saucer, 125 years; towel, 80 years. 

Mrs. J. Blackwell, scissors from England, 100 years. 

Mrs. Henry Laubach, sword used in the war of 1812. 

C- W. Davis, Indian hatchet from a battle-field in Maryland- 
Mrs. L. Fisher, German plate over 100 years. 

Mrs. L. Johnston, tea set presented as a wedding gift to Sheriff 
Cummings; clock 100 years old; old picture. 

Mrs. A. Fisher, plate 125 years old- 

A- B. Kast, horse pistol, 1821; small pistol; flint steel and celt- Prop- 
erty of Robert Persun. 

Benjamin Shoulder, John Arndt's Book of Sermons, Germany, sev- 
enteenth century. 

C. W. Kennley, two large iron ladles, small ladle and large fork, 
all over 100 years; knife and fork from Germany, 127 years. 

Mrs. B. Oaks, pepper box, 95 years; card case, 85 years. 

R. H. Bussler, collection of almanacs, 1825 to 18P5, formerly the prop- 
erty of Jacob Thompson, of Long Reach. 

Harry K. Grubb, collection of fractional currency in frame. 

George Mergner, photograph holder of 2,100 pieces of wood, made by 
hand with a penknife. 

Isaac M. Grier, desk used as Williamsport's first post-office by S. E. 
Grier, who was appointed August 12, 1799. 

Mrs. A. Berry, gun, haversack, spectacles and case, over 100 years. 

G. W. Youngman, Esq., portraits of Samuel and Susanna Ludwig, 86 
years old; Taufschein of Susanna Wa-man, 1788, and Anna Eliza Lud- 
wig, 1718; portrait of Youngman, 200 years old. 

Mrs. A. P. Youngman, sampler made by Elizabeth Youngman in 
1827- 

Adam Oarothers, four mounted deer heads on shields, very fine 
specimens, killed by himself; two sets of mounted antlers; Prussian 
sabre and bayonet, 150 years old. 

Neil Mumane, large stone tomahawk, found at Newberry. 

Mrs. Al. Kast, old-fashioned rocking chair entirely covered with 2,000 
postage stamps of various kinds- 

Mrs. P. Bacon, homespun towel, pillow case, linen sheet, sampler 
and lace cap and comb, all very old. 

Mr. B. Pouitzman piece of stringer, with strap rail, of the old strap 
railroad, that ran from Williamsport to Ralston, now the N- C. R- W. 
It was found after the June flood, 1889, on Third Street, just west of 
Hepburn. Property of John DeWolf, Corning, N. Y. Also flint-lock mus- 
ket carried through the French and Indian and the Revolutionary wars 
by his great great grandfather. 

Mrs. Ploff, two canes and a battle ax. 

Mrs. K. S. Williams, pair of spectacles, 190 years; spinning wheel and 
chair, 90 years. 

Mrs. L. M. Fisher, tin lantern, 75 years old; trunk that Wade got the 
money from after murdering Mr- and Mrs. McBride. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 237 

J. W. Berry, waffle iron; sash,, belt and sword used in the civil war; 
two commissions in the eighteenth century. 

C. V. L. McMinn, quadrant, made in London, 1784, used on a sailing 
vessel for fifty years and subsequently presented to the father of ex- 
hibitor. 

Pair of snuffers, purchased by exhibitor at a vendue of the effects of 
Mrs. Rachel Clarke, a granddaughter of John Sutton, the founder of 
Newberry. The snuffers were made 75 years ago. 

Cup and saucer, blue china and quaint pattern; were a wedding pres- 
ent of fifty years ago, and in 1880 presented to Charles C. McMinn, a 
son of exhibitor. 

Silver tea-spoon, a wedding gift to the grandmother of Mrs. Mc- 
Minn, and a souvenir in the family almost 100 years. 

Steel plate engraving, Washington at the age of thirty, returning 
from a hunt; a rare picture, from the fact that few duplicates are to be 
found. 

Scrap book, made and bound more than fifty years ago by the father 
of Mrs- McMinn, and containing a collection of rare pictures. 

Vegetable ivory nuts, loaned for exhibition by Charles C. McMinn. 

Three pair spectacles — one pair made with steel frames of the pattern 
of 100 years ago, and used in the family of John Sutton, the founder of 
Newberry. One pair brass frames, made almost 100 years ago and worn 
by the father of Catharine Wheeler, who died at the age of 86, in 1893- 
One pair of silver frame spectacles of the style of 1850. 

Exhibit of three books printed in 1784, 1798 and 1802; one German 
Bible, one book of psalms, and one of justice'!* book of forms, etc. 

WILLIAMSPORT. 

W. B. Stuart, collection of Indian arrow heads; sabre, picked up after 
the battle of Gettysburg. 

Mrs. G. H. Muir, pewter platter, 197 years. 

Mrs. Augusta Demarest, hand-made lace, 150 years; bowl from 
Holland, 145 years. 

Mrs. Lewis Biehl, cup and saucer, plate, cream pitcher and tea pot, 
60 years old; shovel and tongs, 75 years old; sugar bowl, 60 years old. 

Mrs- W. Wolf, bed spread containing stars and stripes and American 
Eagle, made in 1855; cream pitcher and plate, 160 years old; glass tumb- 
ler, 103 years. 

Mrs. Katherine Follmer, home-made linen tablecloth, 60 years; 
fancy pitcher, very old; portrait; infant's clothes, worn 43 years ago. 

Mrs. William Seitz, silk quilt and hair wreath. 

Mrs. Andrew Morrison, collection of old newspapers. 

Mrs. E. M. Bates, two quilts, one made by the granddaughter of, 
the other by the great great granddaughter of WilHamsport's first post- 
master; basket, owned by daughter of, and picture of WilHamsport's 
first postmaster. 

Mrs- Isaac Weil, collection of Confederate and state bank bills. 

Mrs- George Sobers, pepper box, 105 years old; Bible, printed In 1810, 
30 



238 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and carried through the war of 1812; Bible taken from the house where 
Lee surrendered. 

Mrs. Thomas Goehng, picture, 103 years. 

Mrs. McCoy, pewter tea pot, 150 years- 

Mrs. S. S. Marquette, pair of hand-made linen pillow shams, 150 years 
•old. 

Andrew Morrison, one-third of a Continental dollar issued by the 
state of Maryland in 1780; fac-simile of the expunged resolution^ as it 
appears on the records of the Senate, March 28, 1834; also Mr. Benton's 
resolution passed by the Senate, January 16, 1837; small piece of rock 
in the shape of a Keystone brought from the ruins of Solomon's Temple, 
Jerusalem; a bond of the Susquehanna River and North and West 
Branch Telegraph Company, No. 316, for $25, signed by A. C. GoeM, presi- 
dent; T. O. Van Alen, treasurer, and George M. Leslie, secretary. This 
was for the first telegraph line built through Williamsport. 

James S. Wood, the Yorkshire rose. 

Mrs. Charles E. Cole, Britannia tea set, three pieces; portrait of 
boy in oil, life size; coat of arms painted on wood; old-fashioned dress 
and trousers; handkerchief, 125 years; blue pitcher; cradle quilt, a very 
interesting collection, as a whole. 

W. C. Hall, picture of William Henry Harrison, 1813- 

Repasz Band, oil portrait of Daniel Repasz, founder of the band; 
frame containing photographs of the present members of the band- 

Mrs. J. V. Brown, Chilcat blanket; straw bottle; bone dish; Indian 
pipe; two horn spoons; beaver's head. These articles were made by 
Alaskan Indians. Wooden tooth worn by an Alaskan Indian in the 
upper life. Spanish card receiver, 150 years; Mexican hair brush and 
Spanish picture. 

W. H. Miller, old Bible; cane; reticule; cone. 

Mrs. N. B. Wilson, soup tureen. 

Mrs. J. Meyers, three pictures; Ten Commandments, framed. 

Mrs t H. C. Hall, piece of linen, 105 years. 

Mrs. Hendricks, cup, saucer and pitcher used by her grandmother, 
over 100 years old. 

Mrs- James McVicker, picture, 1708. 

Mrs. Patrick McPadden, alligator skin tanned in this city. 

J. M. Ficks, miniature centre table, made of 512 pieces with a pocket 
knife. 

J. T. Keen, small trick bureau made with penknife from cigar 
boxes and put together with pins and ornamented with pin heads. 
A very curious piece of handicraft. 

Mrs. Henry Metzger, picture painted by Sophia Hess, 1870; two pic- 
tures painted by Sophia Niemeyer, and collection of stamps; old re- 
volver, shell and dress. 

Mrs. M. P. Walters, table cover, "house wife," and plate. 

T. J. Brook, one bottle 100 years, and one 85 years. 

Mrs- George Weaver, plate, 115 years. 

Mrs. Cornelia Starkweather, pitcher, 75 years; cane, 50 years; Indian 
powder horn, 1776. 

F. N. Page, three portraits, grandmother, father and mother. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 239 

Mrs. E. E. Knapp, four cups and plate, over 100 years; brooch, 60 
years; necklace, gold beads, 150 years; war cl,ub used by Cheyenne 
Indians, South Dakota; shinny stick used in play between old and 
young Santee Indians; Indian tobacco pouch; Indian curios. 

Mrs. G. D. Nutt, two old books. 

Mrs. W. V. Emery, one cup and plate; Shaker bonnet, 70 years old. 

Mrs. P. H. Praster, pictures of Neil Dow and Prances Willard. 

Mrs. L,. A. Southwick, artist, four pictures, twelve sketches and 
seven drawing books. 

Mrs. J. H. McMinn, one Harrison cup and plate. 

John P. Eder, advertisement of first stage line between Northum- 
berland and Bellefonte, 1845. 

Mrs. W. B. Updegraff, applique lace, very old; platter, 63 years old; 
cup and saucer and tea pot, 65 years; two cut-glass wine glasses, 63 
years; breastpin, from England; steel from North of Ireland, 100 years; 
portrait of Ralph Elliot, painted by John Francis, 1830. 

William A. Noll, sugar bowl, 150 years, buried during the Wyoming 
"massacre; picture drawn by a man who was afterwards hanged as a 
rebel spy, 1864; print of the battle of Gettysburg. 

Wendell Stopper, key to old jail, Williamsport. 

J. G. Sheets, History of the Early Martyrs, in German. 

M. K. Speakman, History of the Quakers. 

Joseph G. Piatt, land warrant, signed by Thomas Mifflin, Pennsyl- 
vania's first Governor under the Commonwealth. 

Jane W. Huling, oil painting of Jane Vanderbilt Woodward. 

Mrs. Emerson, hair flowers; old plate. 

H- K. Bricker, pair of shoes taken at the battle of Fredericksbuig; 
quilt, fifty years. 

Mrs. W. P. McBride, tripod. 

Miss Minnie Koch, quaint bottle, used in the time of Frederick the 
Great; pastel portrait of August Koch, Jr.; oil portraits of Mr. and 
Mrs. August Koch, Sr. ; copper wash basin. 

Mrs. W. McDonald, fairy slipper found in coal pit 140 feet under 
ground, in Scotland; horse hair bracelet. 

Jacob Hess, key to old county jail. 

A. D. Knapp, frame of currency. 

Ferd. Weddigen, frame of currency; passport; piece of California 
red wood; laurel root, resembling a stork; slag from Scranton Steel 
Mills; money bag; balances for weighing coin. 

Moses Ulman & Sons, large silver plate with Hebrew designs and 
letters, made at Jerusalem in 1755. 

Mrs. E. J. Gray, Corean screen; Japanese ancestral tablet; Japan- 
lesie bronze candlestick; Japanese bronze bouquet holder; cane from 
battleship Lawrence; red lacquered tray; Japanese short sword 
and sheath; Japanese work bag; Corean devil, made of straw; Corean 
seal; Chinese sword. 

Mrs- Hyman A. Slate, sampler; samples of lace stitches; pair of 
party slippers: infant's shoes: lace bertha; rag; doll, all very old. 

C. C. Hart, display of photographs; design in ornamental pen work; 



240 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

,olock and bracket made by himself; American Eagle, pen work, 4x6 
feet in size. 

Mrs. C. H. Slate, two spoons, 1780, owned by Hon. William Hepburn, 
Lycoming County's first judge; neckerchief and wedding veil of Crecy 
Hepburn Simmons, used at her marriage to P. P. Simmons, 1824. 

Mrs. P. Samson, three rare Hebrew books. 

Charles L. Byer, The Good Samaritan, issued at New Berlin, Union 
County, 1848- 

Mrs. Rebecca D. Huling, Lycoming Gazette of Wednesday, Decem- 
ber 13, 1826. 

Henry Metzger, German prayer book, 128 years; History of the Per- 
secution of the Christians, German; corner stone box and contents, 
taken from St. Mark's Lutheran Church in 1895. 

L. D. Jewett, cane made from wood of ship Constitution; candlestick 
brought over in the Mayflower, by Elder Brewster, Mr. Jewett being 
a lineal descendant on his mother's side. 

Rev. Charles J. Yoeckel, a Quaker marriage certificate, November 
4, 1738, on parchment: loaned by Michael Huffman, Wilkes-Barre. 

Mrs. Sarah Sigafoos, hymn book, containing John Wesley's auto- 
graph; Irish embroidery; picture, "Blind Behsarius," has been in the 
family 253 years- 

C. F. Snyder, red-headed cactus from St- Kitts; cadet suit on school 
ship; piece of mahogany wood from St. Kitts. 

G. C. Wyland, meat fork, 1728; cane made from P. R- R. car that 
carried the Krupp gun to Chicago, and wrecked In 1893. 

Mrs. M. J. Ganoung, quilt; pair of old-fashioned scales. 

Mrs. J. R. Hazlett, quilt; large landscape in gold frame. 

Mrs. David H. Shale, old-fashioned chair. 

Rev. A. E. Wood, German mug; old-fashioned lamp. 

Mrs. M. E. Neece, crayon picture. 

Mrs. Abram Bobst, sugar bowl from Germany, 97 years old. 

Mrs. Jennie B. Askey, baby dress, 78 years old, made in Australia. 

Mrs. H. A. Bubb, cake dish, 86 years old. 

Miss Mary Shorkley, flint-lock gun, property of Charles Shorkley. 

Joseph Losch, Indian war dress; picture, 1807. 

Mrs. Jennie Cheston, W. C. T. U. banner; portrait of "Mother" Mus- 
sina; picture of Temperance Temple in Chicago. 

H. Lipp, warming pan, 126 years. 

Mrs. H. S. Williams, lard lamp, 125 years; cradle spread, 120 years. 

Mrs. Mary Koons, trammel, 200 years; pair of brass candlesticks, 
105 years; coffee pot, 05 years; tin canteen, 76 years; tureen, 51 years old. 

G. R. Kemmerle, copies of Lycoming Gazette, dated June 2 and 
9, 1813. 

Mrs. Theresa Johns, small vase brought over in the Mayflower by 
the ancestors of Mrs. Johns; lining from George Washington's carriage. 

Dr. M. G. Coleman, pair of brass candlesticks from Glasgow, Scot- 
land, 110 years. 

Mrs. D. W. Fogleman, sugar bowl and tea pot, 75 years. 

Mrs. William fUpdegraff, pair of glasses, 1776; lard oil lamp; Bull's- 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 241 

eye watch, 125 years; linen pillow case, hand woven, 100 years old; 
five leather fire buckets used in 1817; portrait of Ralph Elliot. 

Walter Danley, sugar bowl, and fire tongs, 95 years. 

Mrs. George Weaver, picture; linen sheet, wedding dress, chemisette, 
wedding chemise, skirt, green dress and hat, worn by Mary Heisley 
In 1820; wedding slippers, chintz dress, S3 years old; book, bottle, two 
caps. 

Roscoe Huff, two music books, 1803 and 1826. 

Mrs-. M. G. Repasz, picture of Repasz band. 

Mrs. J. P. Hoagland, two medals and clasp, belonging to James Hun- 
ter; piece of silk; beer mug. 

Mrs. George Croll, brass mortar. 

F. B. Pursell, plate; piece of money. 

J. G. Douty, lance and razor, 145 years old. 

Charles Steiger, drum and sticks used during the late war. 

Mrs. Dr. Logan, miniature knee buckle, shoe buckle; crazy Jane baby 
cape; jug 90 years old; telescope given to Dr. Logan by a sea captain 
thirty years ago; small ivory box, 63 years old. 

Maj. H. S. Lucas, collection of gold, silver and copper coins, of various 
denominations, in two neat frames; curious diamond willow cane, from 
Bozeman, Montana, cut in 1862 by his brother; coat, sword, sash and 
belt, worn by Major Luoas in the late war; portrait in oil of Rev. Tobias 
Pinkham, father of Mrs. Lucas, taken in 1828; Mr. Pinkham was in 
Williamsport in 1842; candlesticks owned by mother of Mrs. Lucas in 
1824, very old. 

Mrs. E. Schneider, pewter tea set, 65 years old, brought from Ger- 
many. 

Mrs. F. E. Gleim, large painting of Mr. Gleim's father. 

Mrs. Wilson Butz, half dozen linen napkins; barred linen tablecloth, 
both 85 years; cut glass pitcher, 75 years; bronze pitcher, 100 years 
old; collection of minerals. 

Mrs. William Ball, snuff box, 140 years; letter written in 1815. 

Mrs. James Russell, picture of Russell Inn, the first house built in 
Williamsport, and where the court once sat; portrait of Mr. Russell; old 
sewing machine. 

Miss Mary O. Eder, china tray; plate and vase; picture of Magdalene; 
deer picture, painted by Miss Eder; book 200 years old. 

Mrs. Peter Slyder, towel 75 years old. 

Colonel F. E. Embick, sword and scabbard, with chain belt, in case, 
used by himself in the rebellion; portrait of his father; two cups and 
saucers, gravy tureens, soup tureen, two plates, platter and coffee 
pot, rare old china. 

Andy Rhoads, frying pan and pot, 75 years old. 

Mrs. Louisa Young, rose piece and two vases from California, 100 
years; tea pot and sugar bowl. 

Mirs. J. A. Olmstead, frame of coins, rare; tea pot, turkey platter, 
two plates, two candlesticks, pitcher; fireman's hat and bucket; early 
sewing machine; beaver's tail; Indian knife, rosary, bow and arrow and 
spear; tongs; work basket, tobacco box and scarf; baby cap, Liberty 
bell; shell comb, 200 years old; slippers, purse and currency; four glass 



242 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

pens, piece of copper; spinning wheel; two chairs; candle molds; picture, 
all very ancient. 

Mr. Hiram H. Monroe, linen sheet, linen trousers, book, coin, buckle, 
ramrod, tea canister, pewter tea pot, piece of Jumbo's ear, wrench, 
battle ax, cork ink-stand, cap, linen purse, silk purse, shawl and snuff 
box; black thorn, cane. 

Mrs. A. E. Kunze, pitcher, pipe, infant's cap, pair of stockings', apron 
and three shoulder shawls; very old. 

Miisis Rosalie Higigtos, shell comb; fan, 48 years; cape, 60 years. 

Mrs. A. P. Perley, sampler, whale's tooth and old-fashioned clock. 

W. C. Dickson, Indian relics and ornaments; three old books; very old 
satchel. 

Mrs. J. L. Gassaway, chop plate, coffee cup and saucer; tea cup and 
saucer, plate, bread plate, comb and brush tray; three square plates, all 
hand painted china; bonbon niere; oil painting. 

Mrs. J. P. Finley, profiles of Mr. J. P. Finley's mother and grand- 
mother; cream pitcher; pair of andirons; turkey plate, all very old. 

Mrs. John Horlacher, cup, saucer and pitcher, 126 years. 

Martin Harmon, sword used in the Revolution. 

Miss Marguerite Sipes, gentleman's waistcoat, made in 1800. 

C Martz, walnut cane, 100 years old. 

J. J- Guthrie, cup and saucer, 200 years; blue china bowl, 78 years; 
pewter plate, used by Thomas J. P. Guthrie in the war of 1812- 

Mrs. Edward Phillips, shawl from Bavaria, 102 years old. 

Maggie Wood, small picture, 189 years old. 

Mrs. William Sloatman, plate and saucer from Germany, 107 years 
old. 

Mrs. Fred Shautz, platter and soup tureen, 103 years old; Ulster 
County Gazette, printed in 1700. 

Mrs. Emma Whitman, meerschaum pipe, knife and fork; pair of 
spectacles, 200 years old; two pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Hahn, 100 years 
old; parasol, 35 years. 

Mrs. Joseph Moore, waiter 98 years; sugar bowl, from Germany, 200 
years; piece of petrified wood, 106 years; pair of candle snuffers, 125 
years; piece of crystal froni "Stonewall Jackson's" cave in Virginia. 

Miss Lyde Williams, tea kettle and bottle, 165 years old. 

Mr. James T. Ort, pair of candlesticks. 

THE BENJAMIN FAMILY. 

Mrs- N. S. Ross, pair of andirons, 150 years old; large tray, 175 years; 
brass candlestick and snuffers, 125 years; old lock, 125 years; 
cream pitcher and stand, very old; Bible dated 1793. 
Mrs. Ross, the owner of these articles, is a descendant of the historic 
Benjamin* family. 

•In the autumn of 1777 the Benjamin and Brown families were living 
on what is now known as the "Buckley farm," Loyalsock. A band of 
Indians appeared and the two Benjamin brothers, who were sons-in- 
law of Mr. Brown, fled with their families to his cabin. The Indians 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 243 

Henry Metzger, collection of coins, 430 pieces, very fine; three pic- 
tures of the buildings at the Centennial of 1876; Dawson and Easton car 
coupler. 

Israel Sanders, carpenter's rule, 203 years. 

Mrs. George W. Parsons, cradle in which A. Boyd Cummings, donor 
of Brandon Park, was rocked; pitcher, 130 years old. 

C. S. Smith, two silver spoons, over 100 years; Encyclopedia, four vol- 
umes, 1825; cup and saucer, 125 years. 

Mrs. Ed. Thompson, brass candlesticks, 103 years old. 

Mrs. William Hepburn, reticule and sampler, 116 years. 

Mrs. Hantz, sword carried by a body guard of Napoleon the First; 
Martin Luther medal, coined in 1817; 1856 penny, one of the four coined. 

Mrs. W. H. Fitter, solid brass kettle, over 150 years old. 

Mrs. S. Romig, quilt four generations old; quilt, 80 years. 

Mrs. J. D. Gibson, Lycoming Gazette for 1826; solid silver tea pot and 
sugar tongs, 85 years; German silver spoon, over 100 years; set of solid 
silver table-spoons, 76 years; shinplaster used in 1774. 

Mrs. Jennie Kinley, tea pot, 75 years. 

Mrs. S. E. Carskadden, iron kettle, 110 years. 

Mrs. Fred C. Staib, curious handkerchief, brought from Germany. 

Mrs. F. S. Sallada, piece of Washington's mother's monument ; four 
petrified shells; three pieces of petrified wood; bayonet picked up near 
Fredericksburg; sword used in the Revolutionary war; large collection 
of curios. 

Mrs. Laura Stuart, portrait painted by herself; two vases, 73 years 
old. 

Mrs. William Stadon, piece of a log taken from one of the first houses 
in Williamsport; pitcher, over 100 years. 

Mrs. T. P. S. Wilson, Homer's Iliad, 175 years; vase, 103 years; pair 
of ear-rings; sugar bowl, over 100 years; picture, 100 years; book, 60 
years. 

Mrs. George Sobers, Tree of Life, 70 years; pickle dish, 73 years; two 
plates, 103 years; tureen, 70 years; looking-glass, 148 years. 



laid siege to it, and failing to induce the inmates to come forth, set fire 
to the building. The Benjamin brothers and their wives came out, 
when one of the brothers was killed. Brown, his wife and 
daughter remained inside and we/re burned to death.. Three 
of the Benjamin brothers — William, Nathan and Ezekiel — and a 
small sister were carried into captivity. In a short time the 
brothers were released, but the sister spent her life among the Indians- 
William, who was born in New Jersey August 23, 1767, returned to Loy- 
alsock and lived with friends. He studied surveying with William Ellis 
and followed that profession for many years, living a part of the time 
in Williamsport. In 1805 he was employed to run the division line be- 
tween Lycoming and Tioga Counties. He married Ann Smith and they 
had a son and a daughter. William Benjamin purchased a portion of 
what is known as the "Crownover farm," at Loyalsock, and there he 
died in 1830- Mrs. Ross, who is a descendant, owns the old Bible which 
contains the records of the family. 



244 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. G. H. Minor, book om Theology, 1826. 

Mrs. James Thomas, gridiron, 145 years. 

Mrs. John Piatt, apron designed and embroidered fifty years ago; 
gold-headed cane presented to ex-Sheriff John Piatt by his sons on 
the 25th anniversary of his marriage, and carried by him to the day 
of his death; also his photograph. 

Mrs. Joseph Anderson, tea pot, the property of the Wagner family 
200 years ago, of Hagerstown, Md. 

Hugh Gilmore, German Bible, 1737. 

Mrs- Henry C. Parsons, portrait of Judge William Hepburn. 

J. G. Weisheit, picture of Frederick Von Schiller, and his book of 
poems; several war pictures and china. 

Mrs. Daniel Hartman, two plates, and cane, 100 years: watch holder, 
very old; spice mortar and pestle. 

Mrs. Jacob Hifce, plate 100 years; oil painting on tin. 

Alfred L. Rank, parasol, 77 years old; rocking chair, 99 years; bed 
spread, 92 years; picture of the central part of the city of Williamsport as 
it appeared in 1840. 

Mrs. W. N- Jones, Capt, W. N. Jones' uniform, sword and accouter- 
imentg, worn in the late war; large collection of Masonic and Grand 
Army badges; Confederate bonds. 

Mrs. L. Walters, doll baby and clothes, 165 years. 

Mrs. John Good, Lord Chesterfield's Book of Maxims. 

Dr. J. Stickel, platter; four old plates, saucer and table, all very old. 

COLLECTION OF BEES, HIVES, ETC- 

F. W. Lighton, old time straw bee hive; modern glass front bee hive, 
containing a swarm of bees. A very fine collection of butterflies, moths, 
with chrysalides and larvae, centipedes, etc. This collection contained 
some very rare specimens- Also a collection of shells, cones, etc., about 
300 specimens all told. 

Flax heckle, 1767; cup, 112 years old; plate, 200 years old; powder horn 
used in the Revolutionary war; two buttons, 150 years old, worn by 
his great great grandfather. 

Henry Waters, natural growth of birch wood or buhrl; two war 
ipictures; two pine cones from Oregon and sequoi cone from the Yose- 
mite Valley. 

Mrs. Dr. Louis Schneider, powder horn, fife, card case, sampler and 
belt; salt box, candlestick and watch; album and portrait; all very old. 

C. A. Stokes, portrait of Anthony Stokes, painted by William Cox 
Ellis, whose body servant "Tony" Stokes was- The portrait had been 
shot through by an anti-Abolitionist. 

Mrs. Moses Ulman, ear rings and box, 150 years; old watch and 
chain; old silver tea spoon; embroidered linen towel- 

Lilly Everland, plate, 113 years old. 

Mrs. R. A. Hoffnagle, three cups and saucer, 110 years. 

M- D. Hotchkiss, historic cane. 

Phil Zealor, old-fashioned clock- 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 245 

Mrs. C. O- Mutehart, hand-woven coverlet, 58 years; bread basket and 
shirt, each 65 years. 

Miss May Purdue, saddle-bags used by old Dr. Purdue 75 years ago; 
iron cooking pot, 200 years old ; turnkey and lancet, 85 years old. 

Miss Margaret Alice Good, wash bowl and pitcher, 175 years old; 
china plate; silk shawl and embroidered linen spread. 

Mrs. Charles F. W. Flock, old-fashioned black bonnet. 

Mrs. J- A. Beeber, Columbus plate; lace reticule. 

Jacob A. Hane, piece of curious wood. 

John E. Jones, landscape picture, made of moss, very curious; Ger- 
man table, 140 years old. 

Harry Green, two old time pictures of John Stabb and his grand- 
father. 

Mrs. H. H. Meginness, collection of nine large photographs, mounted 
on cardboard, representing scenes in Williamsport during the great 
flood of 1865. A curious and interesting exhibit, as a reminder of that 
time. 

REMARKABLE VIOLINS. 

A. G. Lindley, violin, Antonius Stradivarius Cremonenti Faciebat 
Anno, 1742. The tone and condition of workmanship are something 
marvelous. This violin can be traced back to Prof. John Beyer, of 
Kerchheim Volanden, Bavaria. After his death it came in possession 
of his son, George Beyer. After his death in the year 1840, it was left 
to John Beyer, born in the town of Standabiel, Bavaria, in 1807. He 
became a musician of no little fame, and about 1855 he migrated to New 
York City. After his death in 1877 he bequeathed the violin to his son, 

F. Beyer, the leader and composer of music, born in Weider Schrocite. 
He died in Bridgeport, Conn., January 4, 1895, at the age of 61 years- 
He was the leader of the Bridgeport Philharmonic Band, the Wheeler 
& Wilson Band, and Howe Band. A few days before his death he left 
the violin to his grandson, Fred. Lindley, of Williamsport, son of A. 

G. Lindley. 

Walter Shooter, violin brought by him from England in 1886. This 
violin was purchased by Dr. Arthur Kershaw's father when a 
'boy. The doctor was vicar of St. Peter's Church, Mansfield, Not- 
tinghamshire, England. After his death his wife presented the 
violin to William Shooter, uncle of Walter Shooter. He used it forty 
years, and then it descended to Samuel Shooter, and at his death 
descended to his oldest grandson, Howard Shooter, son of Walter 
Shooter, of Williamsport. It is over 160 years old. Also a Whip, to- 
bacco box, and coverlet, all very old. 

H. W. Lentz, two portraits of his father, George W. Lentz, at 35 and 
60 years. 

S. T- Foresman, portrait of S. T. McCormick, St., Esq. 

Savings Institution, portrait of Maj. James H. Perkins. 

John G. Reading, portrait of Robert P- Allen, Esq. 

Mrs. Dr. Cheney, oil portrait of Judge Samuel Linn, late distin- 
guished member of the bar. 
31 



246 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Ulman Brothers, portrait of Henry Ulman. 

Mrs. George Cohick, fifty-nine pieces of rare old china, heirlooms 
from 150 to 300 years old; a splendid exhibit, as many of the pieces were 
exceedingly fine. 

James B. Krause, prisoner's shackles, filed so as to effect an escape; 
found in the woods at Vallamont. 

Annie E. Caldwell, photograph of A. Boyd Cummings; large spinning 
wheel. 

H. L. Beck, oil painting of John B. Beck. 

John Tallman, portrait of John Tallman, Sr. 

Mrs. P. H. Bonnell, two pictures, 60 years old; portraits of Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles Doebler; chair made by Kit Carson, 93 years ago- 

Mrs. W- H. Holloway, half dozen silver spoons, given to her when 
Ave years old; four salt spoons; four glasses in wooden case and cup 
and saucer from Ireland; four salt cellars, 90 years old; Bible, 1806; cup 
plate and saucer, 90 years old; looking-glass, over 100 years old; small 
cross made from Charter oak; lace collar and undersleeves; two oil 
paintings, 65 years old, of Newport, R. I.; vest, 90 years old; engraving, 
1S39; Persian shawl; music book, 1834. 

Mrs. M. C. Gosline, snuff box, 84 years old; war newspaper of 1863, in 
frame. 

Mrs. G. L- Bailey, high swell comb, 48 years old. 

Mrs. O. A. Reading, Bible, 1812; silk shawl worn by her great great 
grandmother. 

Mrs. L. D- Hedges, pair of tongs, 103 years. 

Mrs. Helen Kline, dish that belonged to the founder of Newberry; 
.paste pot once 'the property of Richard Webb, 120 years; picture, 112 
years. 

Mrs. C. E. Russell, two rings, two plates, knife, four pictures; Megin- 
ness' first History of the West Branch Valley of the Susquehanna. 

Mrs. S. D- Moorehead, table over 100 years; sword and gun used in 
the Revolution; shell comb. 

C. L. Lincoln, glass dish, 115 years, from Germany; plate, 85 years 
oil; quilt, 68 years, made by Mrs. Lincoln's mother when she was 17 
years. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Harris, book and music book, taken from a burning 
building the time of the Rebellion. 

Justin L. Hill, table 100 years old. 

Mrs. O- P. Riley, deer head. 

Mrs. August Pursell, sampler. 

C. Jones, picture painted at New Haven, Conn-, 1791. 

E. S. Carmer, Bible, 82 years old; watch chain over 100 years. 

Mrs. Herman Hinckley, crib about 100 years 

Charles Buhse, 1064 High Street, clock, 130 years old. 

V. E. Mussina, old letter- 

Mrs. G. W. Page, pair brass candlesticks, 60 years; amber candle- 
stick, 100 years. 

J. Adam Weaver, letter seal, 200 years. 

Mrs. Charles A. Quiggle, clock 120 years old; has been in the Lenhart 
family for several generations. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 247 

Dr. J. P. Haag, bowl once the property of Judge Hepburn ; clock, 110 
years old. 

Mrs. Henry Kettler, rolling - pin, potato masher and small rolling 
pin, all 60 years old. 

Peter Epley, looking-glass on which the sun photographed, or etched, 
geranium stalks, which stood between the glass and the sun, two unus- 
ually warm days in June, 1895; very distinct and very curious. 

G. W. Croll, portrait of Judge Apollo® Woodward. 

Mrs. Mary A. Vantilda, Bible 109 years old. 

Mrs. C. A- Eveleth, silver butter dish; came from England at the 
close of the Revolutionary war. 

Mrs. J. Newcomer, two German scythes, 125 years old; pair of fire 
tongs, from Germany. 

Li. B. Heilhecker, pewter plate and dish, 120 years; made in London 
and used on shipboard. 

Mrs. D- A- Moore, Bible, 164 years old; Hymnal, 1824. 

James Gilbson, book printed in Gaelic, or old Irish; bound in goat 
skin; said to have been written in the time of St. Patrick. 

Mrs. J. Champ Brown, half dozen cups and saucers, and two 
plates, 68 years; cup and saucer, 100 years; spinning wheel and needle 
case, 90 years. 

Sioux Indian knife and sheath; tobacco pouch and spear; sheet, 

spun and woven by her grand mot heir, 100 years ago; vinaigrette, 200 
years old. 

Mrs. Hubler, sugar bowl and flea pot, 130 years old. 

Miss Mame Betts, thimble 80 years old, worn by her grandmother. 

N. Y. Jones, knife and fork made by his great grandfather, 150 years 
old, and in constant use since. 

G. W. Phillips, quilting frames made 90 years ago by Joseph Antes, 
son of Col. Henry Antes, of Antes Fort; copy of Paradise Lost, 1804- 

Mrs. J. A. Hane, two pictures, 137 years old. 

Mrs. Dr. N. A. Hubbard, spinning wheel, the property of her great 
grandmother. 

Mrs. W. H. Bankhart, tea kettle and candlestick. 

Mrs. William Kay, two plates from England, 87 years old. 

Samuel Weaver, silver dollar, 1798. 

Mrs. John Wenner, china plate- 
Mrs. Abe Metzger, book, German, very old. 

G. C. Campbell, book and sword. 

Mrs. E. F. Whitman, old chair; two pieces homespun linen. 

Mrs. E. H. Kellar, two caps, shoes, set of buttons, tea pot, set of tin- 
ware, all very old. 

Mrs. W. S. Gundrum, coat, 70 years old; belongs to Mr. Thomas El- 
liott. 

Mr. James Russell, sugar bowl and French five francs. 

Mrs. J. H. Reed, eleven spoons in case; belonged to the Russell family. 

Mrs. Rev. George C- Foley, German Bible, 1720. 

Mrs. J. W. Good, pitcher, cup and saucer, punch bowl and ladle from 
England; over 100 years. 



248 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. Jacob Steinhilper, German Bible, over 100 years old. 
John Good, ladies' hat, trimmed 18^6. 

Miss Margaret Embick, cane from battle-ground of Tippecanoe, 1840; 
drinking cup carried through war of 1812 by Abram Doebler. 
George Bubb, Louisa Street, picture. 

F. E. Beck, clock, 1841. 

S. L- Youngman, Esq., certificate of birth and baptism (German), of 
Amelia Antes, born in Nippenose Township, October 6, 1795. 

Miss Kate Sane, old quilt. 

Mrs. Dr. E. B. Campbell, silver thimble case, and Mrs. Dr. Thomas 
Lyon's wedding dress. Portraits of Dr. Charles Lyon, Mrs. W. Biddle, 
a daughter of Nicholas Scull, Surveyor General of Pennsylvania under 
the Penns, loaned by descendants. 

Mrs. Thomas Lyon, portraits of Edward G. Lyon and wife, father 
and mother of Dr. Thomas Lyon; linen sheet 150 years old, glasses from 
Germany 125 years, and button 101 years old. 

W- W. Achanbach, Esq., Brown's Catechism, published at Milton in 
1800, containing the names of the early settlers of White Deer Valley; 
art work of Williamsport, part 1- 

H. B, Freis, spoon molds made 1714, in Alsace-Lorraine; six spoons 
made by himself. 

Miss May McClure, lace wedding veil. 

Mrs. T. Smith, pair of old scissors brought from Germany. 

Mrs. Page, German hymn book, 70 years old; six pewter plates, 80 
years. 

Mrs. Adam Beiter, pair of candlesticks, 76 years. 

Mrs. Mary Blackstone, tea pot, 106 years old; Bible, 105 years old. 

Mrs. Mary Slaughter, Bible, 116 years. 

Mrs. H. R. Fleming, pitcher, 109 years. 

'Mrs. J. D. Kline, three plates, 98 years. 

Mrs. D. Wolf, three keys of the old court house. 

Mrs. W. C. Nichols, pitcher, 120 years. 

Mrs. John L. Trapp, pitcher, 75 years old. 

Mrs. M. F. Eyerly, necklace, 125 years old; pen-holder, 75 years; petri- 
fied peach, 125 years old; two money boxes, 120 years; old looking-glass, 
idol, vase, candlestick; skull and wing bones of bird; picture. 

G. H. Muir, two rare old books. 

Miss M. P. Doujgal, brass fender, 192 years old ; thermometer, barome- 
ter and psy chrome ter; belonged to Dr. Priestly. 
Mrs. H. B. Andrus, spinning wheel, 112 years old. 
Daniel Hartman, portrait of Henry Hartman, his father- 
Grace Hofnagle, picture of the Tun Tavern, Philadelphia- 

EXHIBIT OF BIRDS AND ANIMALS- 

Boyd P. Rothrock, taxidermist, 39 East Third Street, one pair hybrid 
squirrels, mounted on natural tree; one black squirrel, male; one gray 
squirrel, male; one English hare, male; group of four cedar birds, males 
and females; one ruffled grouse, male; one woodcock, male; one Colum- 
bian sharp-tailed grouse, male; one Virginia rail, male; one wood 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 249 

duck, male; one green winged teal, young male; one hooded merganser, 
male; one lesser scaup duck, male; one pigeon hawk, male. These spe- 
cimens were all taken in Lycoming County, with the exception of the 
Columbian sharp-tailed grouse and English hare. 

Mrs. W. P. McBride, looking-glass, 200 years old, belonged to John 
Sutton. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, bed warming pan. 

Mrs. A. H. Towner, book of poems published in 1795; oil painting over 
50 years old; shells and fossils from Arkansas; stones taken from the 
bottom of hot springs, Arkansas; hand-made linen tablecloth and towels, 
90 years old. 

Dr. John Senn, hand-made Swiss shawl from Canton St. Gallen; 
platter 63 years old. 

Mrs. Jennie Ade, picture owned by Governor Packer's mother. 

Mrs. F. W. Toner, five solid silver tea-spoons, 95 years old; linen 
table cloth same age. 

Mrs. D. R. Stover, pitcher, over 100 years. 

Mrs. C- E. Runnells, chair that belonged to the Tomb family, first 
settlers of Jersey Shore, 160 years; cream pitcher 100 years. 

Mrs. J. M. Welch, sword used in the war of 1812 and Mexican war; 
large blue platter, 125 years old- 
Mrs. George Bubb, East Third Street, sugar bowl, cup and saucer, 
and three plates, owned by General John Burrows; old clock. 

Mr. John B. Coryell, General John Burrows' sword, 95 years. 

P. D. Davis, copper tea kettle, over 200 years old- 
Ella Redfreld, vegetable dish, 133 years; platter, 133; two sugar bowls 
and tea pot, 200 years; bread bag, very old. 

J. Paul Sues®, collection of United States fractional currency, rang- 
ing in denomination from three cents to fifty, artistically displayed 
and beautifully framed. All of this currency had been in circulation. 
It attracted much attention and reminded many of war times- 
Mrs. Dr. N. L- Johnson, ancient hock cup. 

Mrs. Oscar Breithut, tea pot, 65 years. 

Mrs. Jane Yeagle, pair of brass candlesticks, 110 years, from Ireland; 
old knife. 

Mrs. McNameet piece of "ould sod" turf from Ireland. 

Mrs. H. W. Sipe, ladies' old-fashioned dress. 

Mrs. J. F. Streiby, old clock and quilt. 

Mrs. Henry Martin, rosary; two baskets made of ornamental candy 
from Italy; Turkish stand cover; two glasses, 110 years; picture, 75 
years. 

Miss Martha Gamble, sampler. 

Miss Annie McClure, portraits of Judge William Hepburn and wife. 

Mrs. J. W. Hays, cream pitcher and pepper box, 75 years; tea cup, 
200 years old. 

S. K. Ohmit, meat platter and pitcher; two vegetable dishes, two 
plates; four dinner plates, 100 years; tea pot, 125 years; German hymnal, 
1770. 

A- J. Quigley, German Bible, printed in 1691, and bound in ox hide, 
with the hair on. 



250 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. M. T. Bennett, Bible, book of Sermons, grammar; coffee pot; pic- 
ture; bonnet, age not given. 

F. W. Straley, plate, saucer and cup, old. 

J. F. Straley, spinning wheel and plate. 

C- M. Straley, white cape, sugar bowl, cup and saucer; tin bowl; two 
thimbles; clock, and three books. 

Mrs. H. B. Brobst, two sugar bowls, china pitcher, five saucers, six 
cups, five plates and tea pot; German Bible; all very old. 

E. I. Hepburn, cup, saucer and old dress, 100 years. 

H. J. Neuschafer, chair, 111 years; bayonet from Gettysburg battle- 
field, dug up in 1881; gun made in 1711 and used in Prussian army. 

Mrs. Hyman A. Slate, bowl and pitcher, water bucket, and wash 
bowl; shell comb; watch; looking-glass; half dozen silver spoons, family 
heirlooms. 

Mrs. H. M. Kupp, china bowl, sugar bowl; toast dish and tea pot, 
very old- 

E. L. Taber, old time chair. 

Mrs. Charles, Gleim, coverlet, 69 years; platter, 99 years. 

Mrs. M. S. Jetter, portrait of Jennie Land, painted in 1851; large 
painting, "The Last, Supper," 1845; picture, "Washington's Farewell;" 
portrait of Washington, 1835; portrait of General Taylor, 1844; portrait 
of General Scott, 1844; "Wisdom and, Power," 1859. These pictures 
were painted by C- L. Lawrence, father of Mrs. Jetter, a former resident 
of this city. They formed a very attractive exhibit. 

Mrs. F. J. Burrows, sugar tongs and tea pot belonging to Maj. Charles 
Lowe. 

Mrs. Emanuel Andrews, cream pitcher, 100 years; six plates, cake 
plate, .five cups and six saucers, S8 years old; picture, 100 years old; 
bird's nest; thirty pieces of fine embroidery, worked by exhibitor. 

SWORD OF CAMPBELL. 

Geonge C Campbell, sword and scabbard carried by Gen. William 
Campbell at the battle of King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. When 
General Campbell died the sword passed into the hands of his daughter 
Sarah, who married Gen. Francis Preston, of Kentucky. At her death 
in 1846 the sword became the property of James Campbell, great uncle 
of the present owner, to whom it descended through several hands. 
It was exhibited in the collection of John F. Meginness. 

Miss Fannie Pollock, History of Moderation, printed in 1600. 

Mrs. William Howard, two oil paintings of Admiral Puget (for whom 
Puget Sound was named) and Lady Puget, the latter with a Gains- 
borough hat on, by More, London; ivory miniature of Admiral Puget; 
solid silver tobacco and snuff box; lace veil, hand made, 80 years ago; 
calash; two curtains, dressing gown and lace cap, made in England 68 
years ago. 

Mrs. R. M. Bailey, one coffee set- 

J. K. Crawford, piano, formerly owned by Judge Anthony, the first 
piano brought to Williamsport ; small square table, owned by his father, 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 251 

William Crawford, around which a family of eight were raised; bottle 
and book; portrait of William Crawford, Sr., who died at 92- 

G. Weisbeit, two German prints; old blue pitcher; old-fashioned 
clock. 

Mrs. Ella Schreer, mug 319 years old- 

Mrs. T. J. Funston, Atlas, 1834; tortoise shell comb, 75 years; coffee 
pot, 100 years; picture, 75 years- 
Mrs. E- Shorkley, cane made from whalebone; porcupine; fish skele- 
ton. 

Charles Elmer Wilson, hunting ax, 1767; button molds in use before 
.the Revolution. 

Mm George Wood, sideboard, once owned by Judge Anthony; cream 
pitcher, 95 years old- 
Mrs. R. H. Faries, from a lady in Philadelphia, small United States 
flag, found in the hand of a dead drummer boy on the first Bull Run 
battle field; silver tankard, very old, used by Washington and Lafay- 
ette. 

Mrs. Frank Lewis, oil portrait of Daniel Bruchlacher, one of the 
early settlers of Bloomingrove. 

Richard Dye, cup and saucer, 101 years old; hunting ax, 112; patch- 
work quilt, 105; quilt 75 years old- 

Willard Burch, knife; large silver medal found on Bald Eagle Moun- 
tain; medical book. 

Mrs. W. E. Crane, lace veil, very old. 

Mrs. F- Mankey, book of Maps, 1702; French book, 1688; Shakespeare, 
1777; book, 1769. 

Miss Emma Spencer, old-fashioned cape. 

Mrs. Charles Tepel, set of doll dishes, 92 years old; cup and saucer, 
92 years; six solid silver spoons, 65 years old. 

Capt Evan Rus'sell, photographs of Williamsport's police force, 
framed; seventeen members. 

Mrs. W. J. C. Greevy, picture 125 years old; belonged to Grand- 
mother Jennings. 

H. Lentz, plane, 300 years old; in use in Germany for 250 years. 

H. H. Showers, powder can and bullet case; canteen used in the civil 
war. 

C. G. Crone, old Ulster County Gazette. 

J. E. Shaw, almanacs, 1802 to 1821. 

Mrs. John Millspaugh, pair of brass candlesticks; butter ladle; two 
vases, cup, saucer and plate; pitcher, cup and plate; modern Indian 
utensils; long stem red stone pipe, wi'th. eagle feathers; bow, quiver and 
arrows- 

Geo. H. Park, piano, inlaid with 3,000 pieces of Wood, made in London 
in 1780, and stool. 

Mrs. Jane B. Gibson, portraits of Tunison Coryell and wife, John 
Gibson, and Mrs. Brandon, for whom Brandon Park was named. 

Mrs. John W. Carson, four plates from France, over 100 years old; 
petrified cactus from the Colorado desert. 

Mrs. E. J- Merrick, ring; book published in 1738; desk. 



252 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. Kate E- Purvis, autograph letter of Horace G-reeley to T. Coryell, 
November 7, 1859; volumes 2, 6 and 7 of the Spectator, edition 1793, Lon- 
don., in original binding. 

Miss Lizzie Logan, 410 Third Avenue, curious old book entitled, The 
American Revolution; contains signatures of David and James Logan. 
At least a century old. 

Mrs. J. A. Fiedler, plush brush for smoothing silk hats, made in 
Germany more than a hundred years ago. It belonged to her father, 
Emanuel Brown, and he could trace it back to his grandfather. 

Miss Maud Mitchell, candlesticks, 100 years old ; book of Latin poems, 
'1620; book, 1700; silver spoon, 90 years; cream pitcher, 113 years; bed 
curtain® over 100 years. 

Mrs. A. Moore, clock, 120 years old; muffler, 120 years old; was the 
property of Mrs. Moore's great grandmother. 

Mrs. L. Villinger, clock, 65 years old; sugar box, 78 years old; made by 
hand in Baden, Germany. 

Mrs. Homer Martin, prayer bcok, 1717; was the property of Mrs. 
Martin's great great grandmother, from England; peck measure, hand 
made, by P. Kase, during the Revolutionary war. 

M. B- Wolf, coverlet, 118 years old, made by his great grandmother. 

Mrs. G. L. Kramer, warming pan. 150 years old; was the property of 
Mrs. Robert Maffet, who brought it from Ireland. 

Miss Emma Arrowsmith, spinning wheel; two books, 1805; clock, over 
100 years old; was the property of Miss Arrowsmith's great grand- 
father. 

Mrs. J. B. Leiter, sleigh bells 100 years old; sugar bowl, 150 years; 
cup, saucer and plate, 60 years; waist, 150 years; property of Mrs. 
Letter's great grandmother. 

Mrs- C- E. Barrett, picture, 200 years old; salt spoon; wedding slip- 
per and dress waist; carding wool; Demorest sewing machine, early 
make. 

Mrs. Louisa Logan, vegetable tureen, platter, plate and small platter, 
80 years. 

Mrs. H. D. Boyer, quilt, 1847; pitcher and plate, Over 100 years old. 

Col. L G. Huling, chair, 83 years old; Bible, piece of linen and fire- 
board, 57 years old; was the property of Mrs. Margaret Ross Huling, 
granddaughter of Michael Ross, the founder; cradle, 51 years old, 
property of James H. Huling, great grandson of Michael Ross. 

Mrs. M. Reinhold Baker, Boston Gazette, printed March 12, 1770, 
the morning after the Boston massacre. 

Mrs. William Wuster, two silver forks from the Army Sanitary Hos- 
pital, Washington, D. C, used during the civil war. 

Mrs- William Corter, clock made in 1793, by Seth Thomas, at Ply- 
mouth, Conn.; draw knife, 107 years old. 

Mrs. John Hurr, framed picture. 

Mrs. Geo. Walter, two wool carders; shingle maker's knife, 85 years 
old, from Bloomingrove. 

Mrs. Rose Wilson, tin pepper box, 102 years old; brought to this 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 253 

country by William Schofield, 80 years ago, who was a soldier under 
Napoleon- 
Joseph E. Spaeth, German beer mug, 50 years old. 

Mrs. Jacob Heilhecker, five silver tea-spoons and silver table-spoons, 
109 years old. 

George Roeder, Testament, 1714; book of sermons, 1758. 

Mrs. Thomas Reidy, plate, owned by the McBride family, who were 
murdered by Nelson E. Wade. 

Isaac Konkle, three volumes of cyclopedia, 1784; cup, saucer, plate 
and glass dish, 70 years old; two vases, 60 years. 

Calvin Stutzman, iron cake tureen; tea pot, 105 years old. 

Mrs. Frank Corter, quilt, 70 years; two baby hoods, worn in 1810; 
record of school work, 70 years ago; two vases, over 100 years old. 

W. J- Casner, cake of lava from Mt. Vesuvius, containing coin placed 
in it while warm; box of Indian arrow heads, and skinner; box of Rocky 
Mounltain minerals. 

Mrs. John Breen, musket, 50 years old. 

Mrs. Mary Vohl, hand-knit counterpane, made in Germany, quite 
old. 

Miss Lulu Kahler, wedding waist, 150 years old. 

Mrs. S. M. Green, pewter plate; band-box and coverlet, 66 years old. 

Mrs. William A. Merkley, small tin lantern (ladies) from Germany. 

Mrs. D. Garvey. silk rock spun shawl. used by h"r grpat grandmother 
to wrap her infant daughter, during the French invasion of Ireland, in 
1798, 120 years old- 

A. J. Whitton, rolling pin, 100 years old; English Forester regalia, 60 
years; two English vases, 70 years. 

Mrs. John Shipe, earthenware pie plate, 1818. 

William Richards, English china ornament; English shawl, 99 years. 

Mrs. H- W. Watson, silver shoe buckles worn by her grandfather; 
two china cups and saucers; two silver candlesticks; two coverlets, very 
old. 

Charles Melhorn, samples of wood engraving by himself. 

.HOPKINSON COLLECTION. 

Mrs. W. F. Hopkinson, large silver coffee urn; pair of silver candle- 
sticks; three autograph letters from John C- Calhoun to Mr. Hopkin- 
sow's grandfather; seventeen pieces of rare and valuable laces of the 
fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries — French, "Venetian, Ital- 
ian and Irish. These laces were 1 mounted by experts and exhibited 
at the Loan Exhibition, Philadelphia, in 1893. They are valued at over 
$1,000. Silver cross; sardine fork; asparagus fork; sugar spoons, snuff 
box and spectacles. All heirlooms of Francis Hopkinson, 

Also seven copies of oil paintings, viz: 1. Thomas- Hopkinson, judge 
,of 'the admiralty under George IV.; 2. Mrs. Thomas Hopkinson; 3. 
32 



254 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Francis Hopkinson,* signer of the Declaration of Independence; 4. Mrs. 
Francis Hopkinson; 5. Judge Joseph Hopkinson, t author of "Hail 
Columbia;" 6. Mrs. Joseph Hopkinson; 7. Mrs. John Morgan, sister of 
Francis Hopkinson. Large oil painting by Mrs. Joseph Hopkinson. 

(Mr. William Franoi® Hopkinson, assistant engineer Philadelphia and 
Erie Railroad, Williamsport, is a direct descendant of Francis Hopkin- 
son, the signer.) 

Mrs. C. C. Walker, sugar bowl, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. J. W. Shay, cup and saucer belonging to her great grand- 
mother. 

Mrs- G-. D. Stahlnecker, cup, saucer and pitcher, belonging to her 
great grandmother, over 100 years old. 

H. A. Pardo, handkerchief, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. Isaiah Lunt, pitcher 145 years old, belonged to her great grand- 
mother, in> England. 

Mrs. L>. F. Moore, rocking chair, 110 years old; formerly owned by 
Mrs. John Clark, one of the early settlers in Nippenose Valley; rocking 
chair caught on Main Street, Jersey Shore, in flood of 1865- 

Mrs. Jacob Hite, hand-woven coverlet. 

Mrs. Wesley Maggs, coin spoon, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. L. Slear, two old-fashioned quilts, 

Mrs. Jacob R. Crosley, chair, 150 years old. 

Mrs. Lizzie Leutze, two temperance banners'. 

Mrs- Peter Slyder, sampler. 

Mrs. Henry L. Beck, bronze bust of Benjamin Franklin, on pedestal. 

J. C. Hill, Esq., large needle worked pocket-book, carried by his 
grandfather through the Revolutionary war. 

Mrs. Theodore Hess, baptismal veil, 150 years old; lace shawl, pre- 
sented by Queen Amelia, wife of Louis Phillippe, King of France, to her 
steward. 

Julius Handloser, cap and gown, 150 years old. 

L- V. Moyer, lock, 110 years old, made by hand in Germany. 

Henry Baits, two old German books- 

♦Francis Hopkinson, born in Pennsylvania in 1738; was a delegate 
in Congress from New Jersey (1776-77) and signed the Declaration of 
Independence; he did much by his writings to promote liberty and was 
noted for his wit and satire; author of the famous song, "Battle of the 
Kegs." Held an appointment for many years in the loan office and suc- 
ceeded George Ross as judge of the admiralty for the state of Penn- 
sylvania; appointed by Washington judge of the district court for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and died May 9, 1791- 

tJoseph Hopkinson, born in Philadelphia November 12, 1770; was 
graduated from Nassau Hall and Yale; studied law and became eminent 
at the bar; appointed by John Quincy Adams judge of the district 
court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; 
served in Congress from 1815 to 1'819; member of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1837; published many interesting addresses and wrote 
the song, "Hail Columbia." Died in Philadelphia, January 15, 1842. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 255 

George Zercher, large drinking horn, (ox-horn), silver mounted, and 
used by Turn Verein singing section, made in 1866, and valued at $75. 

F. B. Gutge, cane, 1789; first issue of New York Sun, Sept. 3, 1833; 
small quarter sheet. 

William Langgans, reel made in Germany in 1702; lard lamp, 1770. 

Samuel F. Follmer, bowl, 109 years old. 

Wilson Butz, collection of mineral specimens exhibited at World's 
Fair. 

Mrs. William Eves, Lycoming Gazette of August 4, 1819. 

Mrs. A. Morrison, Indian pipe and moccasins, bow and arrows, 
portrait of Indian chief; portrait of Thomas Morrison. 

Mrs- Bennett Leitz, sugar bowl, 75 years old; musket used in the 
Mexican war; sugar bowl that once belonged to Martha Washington. 

C V. Runkle, ancient Egyptian embroidery, necklace and slippers. 

Mrs. J. H. Dickson, vase; worsted flowersi 

J. H. Devergood, German hymn book, 1764; German Bible, 104 years. 

Mrs. Frank Long, Confederate money, five pieces shinplaster, 
twenty-two pieces. 

Mrs. W. D. Engle and Mrs. S. J. Aurand, piece of fancy work, 1789. 

Rebecca Chambers, three-piece tea set and plate, 90 years oldw 

W. H. Waltz, large clasp-bound German Bible, 1531, 365 years old; 
oldest Bible in the collection. 

Mrs. James Dove, framed autograph letter of George Washington, 
1799. 

Miss Annie Porter, rolling pin, 7'5 years old; cake griddle, 140 years 
old. 

Mrs. Fred, Heether, spinning wheel; waffle iron, over 100 years old. 

Miss M. D. Woodward, large painting executed by her in Holland in 
1894, entitled "The Sheep Fold;" Dutch coffee-pot, 150 years old; silver 
candlestick, 105. 

Mrs. Mary Moltz, sampler, 1702; wedding dress. 

R. E. Kracht, shell comb, 76 years old; old book. 

Mrs, George S. Maxwell, two whale teeth, captured by sailors on 
board the United States frigate Constitution. 

Fred. Welker, crayon, "Pharaoh's Horses." 

Mrs. W. F. Henry, a doctor's lance, from Ireland, 150 years old- 
Mrs. J. N. Furman, home-made linen towel; drawn work; coffee mill, 
80 years old. 

Mrs. F. Borland, spectacles, 150 years. 

Miss Rose E. Wolf, old Bible- 

Mrs. M. D. Fry, handkerchief bag; dressing case and comb. 

Mrs. T. B. Strasser, lard lamp; stair basket, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. J. S. Smyth, chapeau, epaulettes and sword belonging to Maj. 
James Perkins; book, forks, spoon and two plates, over -200 years old. 

Mrs. D. Curns, Bible; silhouette; sewing machine; hymn book, all old. 

Miss Sarah Blanchard, tea pot, 100 years old. 

C- M. Reeder, two old books. 

Mrs,. Jane Allison, clock over 100 years. 

Mrs. Mary Boone, pewter plate- 



256 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

T. M. Miles, desk, table, two chairs and rocker; bureau, 85 years 
old; tea bag - , tea canister and bread tray, 60 years old; shawl, 75 years 
old; iron pot, 90 years old. 

E. M. Bates, case of seeds in bottles; frame of old city bonds. 

J. W. Hobart, two dolls; plate, 200 years old; book, 143 years old. 

Mrs. J. A. Gamble, roast pig platter, 144 years old; chair, 75 years old. 

Mrs. T. Beck, old clock and flint-lock gun. 

Mrs. S. Q- Mingle, picture- 

J. P. Boush, sword and belt 

Mrs. FJoscoe Huff, lantern 100 years old; pitcher plowed up on the 
Grier farm after the Revolutionary war; sugar loaf. 

Mr. A. W. Page, wedding coat, hat and vest, belonging to the late 
Abram Page. 

Mr. J. P. Toner, Indian shirt, made out of antelope skin. 

Mrs. J. G. Stomeslfer, chair 150 years old. 

Mrs. E. R. Paulin, gun over 100 years old; Bible, 1836; dictionary, 
1828; ruffled wedding shirt of George T. Wolcott, 1839; towel and basket, 
100 years old. 

William J. Moyer, Jr., razor and strop, 102 years. 

Miss Kate Everly, three water colors; flowers. 

Mrs. John Griggs, Japanese lacquered tray; small Japanese cap; 
platter, 75 years. 

Lewis €• Neusehafer, Maryland Journal, framed; pair shoes, made 
in 1857, and went through three great floods. 

Mrs. A. D. Hermance, linen spread, flax grown in a field where the 
Mulberry Street school house now stands, in 1810; spun by Agnes Stebb, 
nee Vanderbilt, and embroidered by her great niece. 

Mrs. T. Conner, blonde wig. 

J. W. Wertman, portrait of Daniel Webster. 

Mrs. A. S. Wagner, straw basket 

Miss Emma McKinney, milk heater and milk can to carry to fields, 
made in Germany, over 100 years old. 

W. Augustine Ford, beautiful and lifelike bust of Henry Clay, sculp- 
tured by himself in white marble in 1857- Now owned by Mrs. William 
G, Elliot. 

Mrs. S. Gage, htoopskirt 

Mrs. Jacob Maxwell, hoopskirt 

W. A. Manly, portrait of James K. Polk. 

Mrs. M. Levi, ornament 155 years old. 

Mrs. James W. Donaldson, tea pot and sugar bowl, over 100 years old. 

Mrs. Dr. Jenkins, cup and saucer, 158 years old. 

Mrs- John Moore, sugar bowl, turkey plate a.nd pitcher, 150 years old, 
formerly owned by Mrs. Jordan, mother of Judge Jordan; mitts worn by 
Miss Mary Jordan at her wedding, 90 years ago ; night cap, 75 years old. 

Mrs. M. A. Hagan, kettle 197 years old ; plate that belonged to Roger 
B. Taney, 150 years old. 

Mrs. W. K. Brocious, coal slippers made by a blind man ; plate, cup 
and saucer of George Packer. 

Mrs. Charles Bruner, Bible brought from Germany, the property of 
General Bruner. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 257 

M. P. CrOsthwaitie, candlestick used in Bellefonte court house, before 
the placing of oil or gas in the office of the recorder of deeds. 

Benjamin Greenz weigh,, spinning wheel, 125 years old. 

Mrs. Henry Corter, plate, 150 years old; breastpin, 250 years old; cud. 
All came from Germany. 

Mrs. E. Dal ton, whisk holder, 1801; baby dress, worn by Charles L. 
Pass, 75 years old; quilt, 100 years' old, made from an old-fashioned 
dress skirt. 

Mrs. Barbara C. Douglass, sugar bowl, snuff box and bowl, 200 years 
old; brought from Scotland. 

Mrs. M. Q. Jamison, jelly dish; has been in use 110 years in Germany, 
and ten years in Lycoming County. 

Mrs. T. S. Clark, baby dress, 'tablecloth. 

Mrs. E. S. Smith, hair trunk. 

Mrs. Charles Huston, book and picture. 

Mrs. James E. Fry, picture 100 years old, owned by the Hoffman 
family. 

Mrs. Samuel Elliot, linen, 100 years old; shell plate, 50 years old; two 
books; candlestick, 100 years; tea pot and cream pitcher, 125 years old. 

Mrs. John Hartman, sadiron; hymn book, 151 years old. 

Mrs. Sarah Hayes Payne, comb, 64 years old; bureau and toilet 
covers, made in 1830. 

Mrs. Emily Dodd, Indian whips; tobacco pouch and moccasins. These 
articles were obtained on the frontier by Capt. George A. Dodd, a native 
of Lycoming County, the greatest cavalry captain in the service at the 
present time; Japanese tea pot; foot stove, or warmer. 

W- G- Rathmell, large oil painting of Othello; done by himself. 

Mrs. Eder Domeli, saucer, 100 years old; chair, 75 years old. 

Mr. Parazetite Hopkins, large chair, the first piece of furniture aboard 
the steamer Maryland, used to ferry cars from Havre-de-Grace to 
Perryville, before the bridge was built 

C. S. Lilley, Bible printed in 1832- 

Mrs. H. L. Gilmore, two leather fire-buckets. 
Mrs. Ed. Coolbaugh, comb, mug and cup. 

Mrs. Samuel Coder, chair and quilt, 150 years old; two old leather 
fire-buckets. 

D. K. Brownell, German song book, 1770; Gesetere, 1806; two New 
Testaments, 1790 and 1810; Masonic handkerchief, 1785; towel, 1783. 

Charles Sautters, rolling pin, 1793. 

Charles Bartlett, Indian skull and four bones, thirty-two arrow 
points, scalper, celt, paint box, two stone tomahawks, soap stone, pot- 
tery, stone axe, spear head, scraper, wampum, hammer stone and clay 
pottery; petrified wood; fossil coal plant; army belt buckle, powder 
pistol; star fish; old books. 

Mrs. S. Beaver, fat lamp, made over 100 years ago, by Jacob Krause, 
at Limerick, Montgomery County, Pa. 

Mrs. Samuel Pinning, German book, printed in 1848. 

Mrs. A. T. Bower, The Life and Travels of Samuel Browne, 1712. 

Mrs. Hannah Updegraff, two glass dishes and salt cellar, ancient. 



258 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. S. Mattee, large eight day clock- 

Mrs. George Slate, large eight day clock, which belonged to Judge 
William Hepburn. 

Williiam H. Sloan, sash, six bull's-eye lights, from the original Harris 
House, on Sand Hill, 125 years old. This sash is still in use in the third 
house. 

Miss Emma Rice, thirty-four pieces of hand painted china. This 
china was placed in contrast with the china of "ye olden days." 

Mrs. E. A. Hill, small hair trunk, brought from the Scottish High- 
lands in 1600. 

Mrs. Mary C. Ransom, secretary and book case; two volumes Sacred 
Biography, 1794; arithmetic; Shakespeare, 1823; three volumes Lord 
Byron, 1825; three volumes Robert Burns, 1S24; Pilgrim's Progress, 
1821; Ainsworth's Dictionary; Bucolicon Liber. 

Miss Marion G. Ruch, portrait of Mercy Hepburn Power, one of the 
five young ladies who started the first Sunday school in Williamsport; 
two samplers, very old. 

Mrs- S. A. Runkle, plate, three cups and saucers; creamer; three 
small plates- 
Howard Lyon, cake turner used in the Lyon family for several gen- 
erations; chair used by Edward Grundy Lyon. 

Hon. O. H. Reighard, portrait of Hon. John A. Gamble. 

Mrs. C. J. Cummings, Indian shirt and moccasins; magic mirror; 
clock; dress; sponge box; picture; bouquet holder; minerals. 

Charles Duffy, Sr., green plaid costume; candelabra; oil portraits; 
currency in frame. 

Mrs. Hannah Askey, infant's long dress- 

J. D. McGannon, lithograph of the fastest express train in the world. 

Mrs. Brian O'Connor, cream pitcher from Ireland, very old. 

Mrs- Carl Tewell, prayer book, 1717; Murray's Grammar, 1809; cate- 
chism, 1717; embroidered chamois cape and colored covelrlet, hand 
woven; Masonic handkerchief. 

Riley W. Allen, Bible, 97 years; tracts, 50 years. 

Mrs. George Straub, tlhree-legged kettle, used for melting lead, 150 
years old. 

Mrs. Reuben Elliott, bread plate, 100 years old; plate, cup and 
saucer, 75 years. 

Wilson George, bellows, 150 years old; three pieces of blue china, 
75 years old; set of dishes and sugar bowl, 100 years. 

Mrs. Frank Wagner, crape shawl, 150 years. 

Mrs. Abraham Bouchard, portrait 50 years old; large home-made 
rug. 

Mrs. Henry Nast, sampler; pipe from Germany, 75 years. 

Mrs. H. T. Crawford, pair of polished steer horns, six feet six inches. 

Mrs. Belle Casebeer, Quaker bonnet. 

Mrs. William E. Page, quilt, 70 years' old; half dozen hand-made 
spoons, 110 years old. 






DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 259 

Miss Cora Page, small bureau, 70 years. 

Mrs. John Vollmer, tea pot, 110 years old; pitcher, 80 years. 

Mrs. Thomas Johnson, wash bowl and pitcher, 75 years old. 

Mrs. D. S. Hall, portrait of Thomas McElrath; pitcher, 150 years. 

Mrs. H. P. Keyte, nine hand-painted cihina dishes, 50 years old; 
four pieces of decorated china, 84 years; pitcher, 105 years. 

Mrs. T. P. Gahan, tureen, 113 years; two plates, 100 years; baby 
dress. 

Mrs. E. Pidcoe, pewter platter, 126 years; pitcher, 65 years; meat 
dish, 75 years; homespun linen tablecloth; pair homespun linen 
pillow cases; two pair of stockings, 70 years. 

Mrs. E. Focht, soup tureen, 150 years. 

Mrs. Sarah Hicks, five silver spoons, 100 years old- 
Mrs. John Hartman, two glass candlesticks, 75 years old; wedding 
dress, 110 years; lard lamp, 52 years; spider, 110 years- 
Mrs. A. M. Ort, tea kettle used before the Revolutionary war; 
trammel and hook, 125 years; shawl, 95 years. 

Mrs- Mary Jetter, three instruments used by C. Lawrence in the 
first brass band in Williamsport, 1831; jug, very old; two patterns used 
for stamping on cloth, 1840; plaster cast, Christ taken from the Cross, 
1824. 

Mrs. John Herrer, picture, 150 years. 

Mrs. Kate Pessler, platter and two plates, 110 years. 

Mrs. M. Weller, coverlet, 53 years; silhouette. 

Mrs. E. DeHass, cream pitcher, 100 years; card receiver, 75 years. 

Mrs. J. F. Smith, quilt, quilted with homespun thread, 75 years ago. 

Mrs. Col- Charles Duffy, So-., hat, 1800; frame of fractional currency, 
war issue; three portraits; brown bear robe; shell fan; opera glass; 
cup and saucer; small pitcher; centennial spoon; Roman comb; shell 
basket; coral; petrified cedar; nugget of silver; horse-shoe; German 
book; crucifix; two cameos; Sporting Magazine; Public Ledger; Alas- 
kan pipe; two frames of coin; two centennial candlesticks, 77 years old; 
desk, 128 years. 

Reuben Dunkleberger, Bible, 1700. 

Mrs- Melick, sampler, 1824. 

Mrs. John Sassaman, tea pot, cup and saucer, 108 years. 

Mrs. E. Brewer, largest newspaper ever printed, England, 1859; sam- 
pler, 1818. 

Mrs. James Starr, two Waverly Novels, early edition; Irish Bible, 
1680; Homer's Iliad, 1790; two cut glass bouquet holders; six table and 
one tea-spoon, very old; pin cushion. 

Mrs. A- Hunt, two chairs made in Camp Convalescent, Virginia; shell 
picked up during the battle of Bull Run. 

Mrs. W- M. Wallace, nine spoons, 200 years old; hair trunk, 95 
years. 

Mrs- J. Tolen, dress, bonnet and apron, brought from Germany. 

Ferdinand Dittmar, book of designs. 



260 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Mrs. H. M. Lomison, candlestick and snuffers, very old; pewter 
plate, 1772; small platter, 110 years; tea caddy, 105 years, from Holland. 

Mrs. Maloom McMillan, two pictures, "Beautiful Saint," "Beautiful 
Sinner," brought from Scotland, 48 years ago. 

Mrs. C. E. Beugler, warming pan from Scotland, 100 years; sugar 
bowl from Ireland, 100 years- 

Dr. L. M- Otto, two sets of surgical instruments; German Bible, 1765. 

Mrs. L. Bender, book from Germany, 1757- 

Mrs. M- E. Harris, coffee mill, 75 years. 

Mrs- John Bader, rocking chair, 75 years. 

Mrs. J. Steinhilper, cane, 57 years old- 
Mrs- C. C. Rice, glass goblet, 43 years. 

Mr. J. E. Rothfuss, French book, 100 years; two German books, 1786, 
,1790. 

Mrs. G- J. Klette, chair, 50 years. 

Mrs. N. C. Keefer, dish, 65 years- 
William H. Keefer, pair of glasses from France, 300 years old. 

Mrs. Mary R. Bennett, cream pitcher, 65 years; looking-glass, 75 
years; coffee mill and flat-iron. 

Mrs. Martin Weasner, knife made in 1760; glass bottle from Cen- 
tennial, 1876- 

Miss Elizabeth Gramlich, rolling pin, 100 years. 

Mrs. Fred Metzger, shawl, 88 years. 

Mrs- P. L. Koons, Life of Joseph, 1794; coverlet, 100 years- 

Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins', smoothing iron, 100 years. 

Mrs. C. Schiesley, cup and saucer. 

C- M. Reeder, jewelry in glass case, and letter seals, 100 years. 

William Slack, case of war relics; frame of G- A. R, badges; case 
of Knight Templar badges; knapsack, carried as a member of Company 
A, 133d P. V. 

Miss Wilsion, brass mortar, brass candlestick and glass candlestick; 
flax heckle; oream pitcher; baby cap; embroidered alphabet; bread 
basket, all very ancient. 

J. R. Hyman, table, work basket and iron stand, 150 years. 
Robert Pott, saddlei-bags used in 1812; book, 1519; lock and key, 250 
years. 

Mrs. E- Remington, small marble stand, cut from Mosquito Valley 
black marble, by John Desmond, of Newberry. 

Mrs. T. G. Lowery, two hand-painted plates, 150 years; hair curler, 
200 years; pair of fire tongs- 
Mrs. G. W. Anderson, brass candlestick, from Scotland. 

Evenden Brothers, palms and plants for decorative purposes. 

William H. Burge, violin, 125 years old, used by Ole Bull. 

T. C. Trayer, German Bible; two profiles; wedding veil; bead neck- 
lace; shopping bag; sampler; valentine; child's dress and cap; lady's 
cap and handkerchief; linen and linen thread; dress waist; shell comb; 
saw; mail battle shirt. These articles are all very old. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 261 

W. S. Chappell, six old-fashioned silver watches of various styles. 

Misses Pollock, large old-fashioned platter. 

G. H. Sallade, silk dress, over 100 years; worn ait Washington's re- 
ceptions. 

Mrs. W- W. Shank, silver spoon, over 100 years; belonged to the 
Harris family, at Loyalsoek; cup and saucer from Japan, used by the 
common people. 

Mrs. F. C. Cowden, book, fir9t one published by the M. E. Church, 
relating to its doctrines. 

Mrs. Reuben Stonesifer, German Bible, 1747, and read through fifteen 
times by the owner; rolling pin, 200 years, from Germany. 

Mrs- Dr. G. C. Burnley, coverlet over 100 years old. 

Mrs. Francis A. Bishop, picture; wall paper design, 110 years; chair, 
130 years; made in Germany. 

Mrs. William Hartzell, cradle which has been in use for three gen- 
erations. 

Miss Refbecoa Datesman, gold pencil; baby'si cap and stockings; 
plate, cup and saucer; meat platter, 150 years. 

W. E. CalHn, sextant, 60 years; two candlesticks, 125 years. 

J. C. Bassom, picture of Williamsport, 1854- 

H. A. Tolhelm, Indian bracelet- 
William Volkmar, German Bible, 1672. 

Mrs. B. Levy, pewter plate from Germany, 150 years; silk shawl, 
150 years. 

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, silk quilt, containing a patch 
from each state in the Union. 

George D. Post, passport from York, Pa., to anywhere; discharge 
from Williamsport Guards, 1838; two framed portraits; German Bible. 

Mrs. William Valiquett, cup, 175 years. 

J. C- Brown, five cups and saucers, very old. 

John R. Laird, violin, 110 years; paper pitcher, made out of re- 
deemed and macerated greenbacks. 

Mrs. A. E- Howard, bed spread. 

William A. Ford, Italian marble door block. 

James Russell, small desk, without legs, used for many years in the 
Russell Inn, the first house built in Williamsport. 

J. Wesley Miles, three school books studied by himself when twelve 
years old; school Philosophy, 1805; child's shoe, 50 years; bread dish, 60 
years; high chair; portraits of his father and grandfather. 

Dr. E. J. Gray, school globe for teaching temperance. 

Mrs. Henry White, copper tea pot and bell, very old; portrait of the 
late John White; captain's commission to Hugh White, April 19, 1776; 
portrait of the late Henry White; bonnet box; bonnet and shoes worn 
by Mrs. Catharine Anthony, 50 years ago; white knit quilt, containing 
600 pieces; piano cover; slippers from Paris Exposition; Roman lamp; 
shawl, 80 years old; crape shawl and vest from Tangiers, Africa. 

G. Bert Repasz, keyed bugle; baton used by Daniel Repasz, founder 
of the Repasz Band; silk banner. 
33 



262 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

RELIC OF ETHAIN ALLEN. 

George Russell, desk, said to have once been the property of the 
celebrated Gen. Ethan, Allen.* 
George B. Leiter, three spoons. 

Mrs. W. G. Elliot, crape shawl. 

William C- Siess, stiletto, 1795. 

Fred R. Miller, copy of Martin Luther's Catechism, 1688; sampler, 
1753. 

Mrs. M. Botts, coffee pot, 70 years. 

T. E. Beck, grandfather's clock, 126 years old, and in constant use. 

F. P. Cummings, Esq., silver pencil, taken from Jeff. Davis, at the 
time of his capture, and given to his mother by William E. Kelly, his 
uncle. 

Mrs. Ella Shaffer, sugar bowl and snuffers, 85 years old; sabre and 
straps found at Gettysburg. 

Clevan Diniges, two pieces of silver, one of mica, and two of copper 
ore. 

Miss Katharyn Burrows, Gen. John Burrows' epaulets. When a 
young man General Burrows was connected with Washington's head- 
quarters as a dispatch rider, and was in the battles of Trenton, Mon- 
mouth, Brandywine and Germantown. General Burrows founded and 
laid out the borough of Montoursville. 

Mrs. James P. Herdic, portiere, embroidered by hand on linen and 
lined with silk; two hundred years old; brought from India by Capt. 
James Jefferis, her grandfather, comjmander of the ship Neptune. 
Solid silver service, five pieces, made out of Spanish coin, in Philadel- 
phia, early in 1800; one Spanish doubloon, 1795; gold cup, bearing Span- 
ish coat of arms, very old; plate from China, 1795. These valuable 
articles descended from Mrs. Herdic's grandfather, Captain Jefferis, 
and are treasured as precious heirlooms. 

Mrs. Samuel Ayers, Testament carried through the rebellion; two 
of the first issues of the Muncy Luminary. 

Mrs. Flora Shearer, ancient book, bound in wood, which has been 
in the Shearer family for 200 years. 

Mrs. S. A. Van Gilder, skimmer, over 100 years old. 

W. B. Durrant, French clock. 

Mrs. Isabella G. Stanley, parchment land warrant, signed by Gover- 
nor Mifflin; Flemish ale mug of the sixteenth century; meerschaum 
tea pot and creamer; genuine slag-ware vase; tea pot, 125 years; bottle 
made at Eagles Mere; antique cap and old lace. 

Mrs. H. C. Hall, sugar tongs, tray and snuffers, all 80 years. 



*In April, 1786, Col. Ethan Allen came to Wyoming, proposing to 
settle there and Interest himself in establishing a colony of Green 
Mountain boys. Col. John Franklin contemplated founding a gov- 
ernment of his own on the North Branch about this time, with the aid 
of Allen, but his arrest for treason broke up the scheme, when Allen 
left and returned to Vermont. It is not improbable, therefore, that 
Allen may have owned this desk. See Miner's Hist. Wyoming, p. 386. 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 263 

Mrs. Susan Moss, deed made in 1790; judgment note, 1796; safety- 
box, made in 1790. 

Mrs. Louise Staubach, worsted wreath, made in 1850. 

H. Rice & Sons, clothing dummy. 

Mrs. James J. Gibson, Bible and book, 1642; bureau made in 1745; 
three suits of boys' clothes, 50 years old. 

Dr. Annis Crawford, child's dress of pink calico. 

Miss Ida Murb, tablecloth, 150 years; used only at christenings. 

Mrs. A. E. Kunze, German horse-pistol; smuggler's rifle; pipe, 100 
years old; three German pipes. 

Miss Maud Reeder, blue plate, half dozen cups and saucers, very old. 

Mrs. E. Cross, plate with Asiatic scenery, 125 years. 

David Eppler, pair of wooden shoes, from Germany. 

Miss S. A. Daman t, harmonica, or musical glasses and stand, over 
100 years. 

Mrs. Dr. Louis Schneider, Luther's first catechism, German, 134 
years; collection of autographs; sampler; quilt, 85 years old; piece of 
gray homespun linen, 89 years; German Bible, 238 years; English Bible, 
|275 years; Laws of Pennsylvania, 105 years; Spanish Medical Works, 
Nos. 1 and 2; basket, 58 years; wool carders, 100 years; Butler's Hudi- 
bras, in German, 1800. 

No. 1 Engine Company, portrait of A. Boyd Cummings. 

Anna B. Pratt, portrait of Judge William Hepburn. 

Mrs. Thomas Millspaugh, petrified prairie dog; platter, 150 years. 

Jennie Crawford, large eight-day corner clock, 125 years; homespun 
linen towel. 

Mrs. Fannie Gilroy, curious crayon portraits of Mr. Van Ness, Mrs. 
Laura Stuart's father, and Mrs. Dacks, Mrs. Gilroy's mother; two 
sugar bowls; plate; linen sheets, spread; pitcher. 

S. H. Kunes, watch and chain, found at Johnstown three weeks 
after the inundation. The watch stopped at 5:15 P. M., the hour the 
flood was at its height. 

Mrs. J. W. Hyman, sewing basket, round-top table and iron stand, 
150 years old; originally belonged to Mrs. Yost, her grandmother. 

Mrs. Maria Moltz, oldest sampler on exhibition; made by her grand- 
mother, Mrs. Albright, at Marietta, in 1702. 

Robert Moore, modern English chiming clock, valued at $650. 

Mrs. J. W. Stout, knee buckles, worn by her grandfather; large 
mfirror, broken when sunk in the North Branch at Kipp's Run in 1778, 
■at the time of the Wyoming massacre. Upon their return the mirror 
was recovered from the water and has been treasured by the descend- 
ants ever since. 

Daniel Keeler, copper Indian spear-head, five inches long; very 
fine; six fossil trilobltes. 

Lewis F. Aurand, Irish pointer retrieving woodcock, showing dog 
coming out of grain field; black bear; ruby-throated humming-birds, 
with nest and eggs; Baltimore orioles, with nest; California quail; mal- 
lard duck; great blue heron; wood duck; canary in cage. 

S. L. Baker, soldier's discharge, June 9, 1788, signed Go. Washington, 



264 LYCOMING COTTTCT CENTENNIAL. 

con: J. Lumleull, individual secretary and registered in the 

*»ok of the regiment by James Bradford, adjutant. 

Col. D. R. Foresman, carbine and sabre, carried by him in the late 
war; belt taken from the body of L. H. McCormick, killed at the battle 
of St. Mary's Church, June 12, 1862. 
Capt. David Bly. muster rolls and company books, including deserip- 

list, of Company B, 131st P. V., of which he was an officer. 
Dr. L.. G. Baker, wedding ring; two "high" tea-spoons of Mary Brin- 
ears; silk sampler, made by her daughter. Isabella, in 
ISIS, which contains the r.ames si - ■ ->s Mary Briner, Henry 

Brindle and Susan Brindle; pair of scissors, over 100 years; Discipline 
and Doctrine of the M. E. Church, as adopted at Baltimore Conference 
in :" r.icb are added the minutes of the General Conference of 

1796. at which Bishops Thomas Coke and Francis Asbury presided; 
case containing archaeological, anthropological, geological, meteorologi- 
cal, mineralogical and zoological specimens. 

CLINT ." X □ DUNTT. 

Z A. Fancher, Dock Have: ..uking cases, containing fifty 

sfilk banners, covered with firemen and society badges of metal and 
.silk; about 2.59C badges, firemen's hats, belts, trumpets and axes. 
nats dating back to 1740; a pair of cutlasses used by Captain Kidd. 
These were from Mr. Fancher's collection of over 10.000 pieces — 100 
articles, 300 pieces. 

George Crawford. Pine Creek, hat rack and hooks made out of eight 
fuli sets of deer horns, from deer killed by owner. 

George D. Hess, Beech Creek, long flint-lock gun, used in the war 
of 1812, and pair of epat. I^apt. George Hess. 

John Ligget, fossil tooth of Mastodon, found near Beech Creek. 

E Danks, Chatham's Run, 15P specimens of Indian relics, arrow 
heads, celts, beads, specimens of pottery, pipes, copper rings and 
skeleton. 

S. H. Kuner Blanehard. two flax heckles: old powder horn and bul- 
let pouch; watch found at Johnstown after the flood. 

POTTER COUNTY— OXE BUDL, COLDEJCTION. 

Gerroania — Dr. Charles Meir e E wedish Bible, once owned by 

Ole Bull and useo -_>ma. It was printed in 168€ 

and bound in 1694 in heavy boards and calf. Size, 16xl2x€ inches. A 
emely valuable relic of the great violinist. 

Her- collection of Ole Bull account books, papers, etc., 

used at Oleona. 

-vchwairzenbach. original autograph letter from Ole Bull to 
friends at Oleona The epistle overflows with pathos and was intended 
to buoy up the hopes of the then disheartened colonists in the wilder- 
ness at Oleona. The full text of the letter, together with a fac-simile 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 26-5 

of Mr. Bull's autograph* (doubtless the first time they ever appeared 
in print) are given herewith: 

Philadelphia, Nov. 7, 1853. 
To Mrs. Anderson, Larson and Luckaw: 

Dear Sir: — Mr. Robert Hamilton, who brings you this letter to the 
colonists at Oleona, comes charged with a quantity of provisions and 
stores purchased from the net proceeds of the two concerts recently 
given by me in this city. I have received accounts of the necessities of 
the colonists which have wrung my heart with sympathy and made me 
•keenly regret that these concerts were not still more productive; they 
would undoubtedly have been so but for the persevering efforts of the 
designing men, who are endeavoring to sacrifice the colony and myself, 
and who reported everywhere that there was no suffering at Oleona 
and even caused statements to that effect to be inserted in the public 
press. 

I intend to be at Oleona in a few days, accompanied by a few friends, 
to renew the bonds of fraternity and good feeling which have ever 
united us, and which it is the hope of my life, can never be broken. 
Your faithful friend, 




These mementoes of the great musician attracted much attention, 
and were regarded as a most valuable and interesting exhibit. 

SULLIVAN COUNTY. 

Mrs. A. L. Smith, of Forksville, a large number of articles from the 
West Historical Society of Sullivan County, comprising relics of the 
■Bird, Molineux, Little and Smith families. These families were the 
first settlers in and about Forksville a hundred years ago. The anti- 
quarian collection was very fine and it is regretted that it is impossible 
to name the pieces in detail. 

A. Logan Grim, Esq., Laporte, Sullivan County, tea-kettle, 140 years 
old; copper ladle; surgeon's box, used in the Revolutionary war; book 
on Medical Science, 1792. 

Forksville, Allen Little, large brass candlestick. 

Sonestown, E. W. Warner, specimen of milk weed and prepared 
fiber, long, strong and fine, with good color; Continental 12s, 1777; 
Confederate $5, 1861. 

TIOGA COUNTY. 

Arthur M. Roy, one of the editors and publishers of The Agitator, 
Wellsboro, copy of the Lycoming Gazette, dated January 22, 1807. This 
is the oldest copy of this paper known to be in existence. It was started 
at Williamsport in 1801. 

D. R. Werline, Liberty, copies of the Lycoming Gazette of August 
18 and 31, 1814. 



*The editor is indebted to the courtesy of Pennsylvania Grit for the 
use of the autograph of the famous musician. 



266 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

J. W. Zafle, Liberty, cow-bell of 1718. 

John Folkrod, Liberty, stave canteen with brass hoops, carried by 
Jacob Folkrod in the Revolutionary war; cream colored silk vest worn 
in the time of the Revolution; old linen thread and pocket atlas, 1801; 
silver tea pot, 100 years old; razor, 130 years, and Bible 105 years. 

H. H. Goodrich, Tioga Borough— now of Philadelphia Mint— silver 
shoe buckles worn by the "Hermit of Tioga;" photograph of Hole- 
in-the-Day, an Indian chief; parchment seal, 1777; dressing stone; bayo- 
net, cartridge box, shells, balls, bullets, etc. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Northumberland Borough— Van Alen & Waples, brass door knocker, 
iflroim 212 King Street. Was in use there over one hundred years, and 
was taken from the door by W. W. Champion, Esq. 

Mrs. Mary Dockey, Northumberland County, Bible, date of 1760. 

Allen C. Miller, Milton, German Bible, 1724. 

R. N. Shaw, Clearfield, mounted buffalo head, loaned by Charles H. 
Eldon. 

John Bachert, Tamaqua, distaff used in spinning. 

Emporium Novelty Works, Emporium, Cameron County, Jewel 
coffee mill, exhibited alongside of the oldest coffee mill. 

C. A. Rubright, Corning, N. Y., large oil painting of himself as he 
appeared when released from Andersonville prison, April 28, 1865; 
weighed 150 pounds when captured and 85^ when released. 

County Commissioners, Elk County, photograph of court house and 
jail. 

William Raker, Blue Wing, North Carolina, Confederate money; 
specimens of native copper and iron ore. 

INDUSTRIAL AND MECHANICAL EXHIBITS. 

The industrial and mechanical exhibit occupied the northern middle 
,aisle of the building, and was interesting as a contrast with the anti- 
quities surrounding it. The articles exhibited are briefly described as 
follows: 

The Wire Buckle Suspender Company had a working exhibit, show- 
ing how suspenders were made. Four uniformed young ladies were 
•constantly employed making suspenders, with the name of the pur- 
chaser and "Lycoming County Centennial" embroidered on each pair. 
The booth was handsomely fitted up and the machinery, driven by 
electricity, could be plainly seen. Several thousand pairs of suspender's 
■were made and sold. The display was arranged and under the direc- 
tion of C. R. Harris, inventor of the Harris wire buckle. 

The Royal Braid Company operated two of their braiding machines, 
making the braid used by the Suspender Company. 

The Demorest Manufacturing Company had a most attractive booth, 
from which they displayed their famous $19.50 sewing machines, and 
the reliable Demorest bicycle. A feature of the exhibit was a wheel 
ridden by numerous brownies, made from incandescent electric lights, 



DISPLAY OF ANTIQUITIES. 267 

and a Demorest sewing' machine run by an electric motor at a high 
rate of speed, stitching an endless band of muslin. They gave visitors 
a souvenir paper knife, one side of the handle containing a log school 
house dated 1795, and a cut of the High School building with the date, 
1895, on the reverse side; a sewing machine and a bicycle. 'Also a small 
pin tray representing a bat with expanded wings, with the word "Dem- 
orest" on it. The exhibit was arranged by the superintendent, Mr. 
Hugh McDonald, and was one of the handsomest and most, artistic 
in the building. 

The Singer Sewing Machine Company made a fine exhibit of Singer 
sewing machines and art needle-work done on the Singer. A young 
l'ady from the New York offices gave exhibitions of fine and artistic 
needlei-work, embroidering, etc., done on the machine; and also gave 
away a large number of souvenir hat bands, on which the names of 
the recipients were embroidered by the operator. The display was under 
the supervision of L. W. Tallman, the local general agent. 

The Lycoming Rubber Company made a handsome display of its 
manufactured product, together with the rubber in its raw state and 
various processes of manufacture. An arctic, some two feet in length, 
and made for exhibition at the Centennial, attracted much attention. 

Steams' Silk Mill exhibited a case containing their handsome black 
silks, manufactured in this city, and silk in the process of manufacture 
from the cocoon. 

James N. Kline & Company made a very attractive exhibit of fancy 
hardware, artistically displayed, including guns, revolvers, fishing 
tackle, etc. This display attracted much attention. 

The Williamsport Brick Company exhibited a case comtaining sam- 
ples of their various styles and colors of brick. 

James Thomas, dealer in agricultural implements, exhibited a 
papier mache horse, saddled with a ladies' saddle, 125 years old; South 
Bend chilled plow, nickel-plated handles and beam inlaid with costly 
woods, and valued ajt $150. It was exhibited at the World's Fair; plow 
with a wooden mold board, etc., made by Stephen Tomlinsan about 1840, 
and now owned by Peter Scott, of Fairfield Township; an ox yoke over 
100 years old; large oil painting of a buggy and a pair of trotters. 

L. L,. Stearns & Sons made an exhibit of fine carpeits, rugs and 
draperies, all canopied by a great Japanese parasol. 

L. I. Meyer & Company, Montoursville, display of trousers, overalls 
and jumpers. 

George Harder, an exhibit of modern and ancient guns, revolvers, 
fishing tackle and sporting goods. Among the ancient guns were some 
very rare specimens, one being an Arabian match-lock of the sixteenth 
•century. 

The Harry K. Smith Hat and Furnishing Company made a fine 
display of case containing felt and hats in the process of manufacture, 
from the Dunlap Hat Company. Also a large gray bell-crown high 
hat, made to represent the one worn by the elder Harrison, and gen- 
erally called "grandfather's hat." 

Fisk, Krimm & Company, music publishers and dealers in musical 
instruments, exhibited a Matchless Shaw piano. 



268 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

D. S. Andrus & Company, a fine Sohmer piano, handsome cabinet 
organ and an electrical piano. The latter attracted much attention 
by playing- populan airs. 

Mitchell, Young- & Company, dealers in musical instruments, hand- 
some piano. 

Seitz Brothers, grocers and dealers in china and glassware, display 
of fine china and cut glassware. 

Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Ohnstead, booth in which a handsome display 
of their family medicines was made. 

J. L. Jackson, large frame containing photographs of furniture de- 
signs, made by the Otto Furniture Company. 

W. F. Dean, collection of photographs, Williaimsport furniture de- 
signs, 

Levi Houston, Montgomery, frame of photographs of wood-work- 
ing machinery manufactured by him. 

L. E. Jones & Company, new Quaker bonnet from Wilmington, 
Delaware. 

Keystone Lithograph Company, lithograph stone, steel plate, copper 
plate invitation, wood out, electrotype, two half tone engravings, steel 
die, four chalk plates, all in various stages of completion, for the pur- 
pose of showing the different kinds of engraving. 

The Daily Times, booth displaying matrix and stereotype, showing 
Che modern method of printing on a fast rotary press; case of type, 
compositor at work, and press, on which cards were printed. 

Evening News, booth containing case of type and compositor at 
work on copy; small job press at work printing cards, etc. 

The Sun, booth containing small job press printing cards; case of 
type with compositor at work; specimens of blank book work, phono- 
graph, etc. During three days of the exhibition The Sun issued a 
miniature Centennial daily edition, containing items relating to the dis- 
pilay, which was edited by George S. Maxwell, and set up and printed 
in the booth. Also a registry book. 

Gazette and Bulletin, an attractive booth containing job press at 
work printing cards, case of type with compositor at work, specimens 
of blank book printing and binding; and a large book for the registra- 
tion of the names of visitors. 

Pennsylvania Grit, curious old-fashioned hand printing press, belong- 
ing to the Campbell Printing Press Company of New York, from whom 
it was borrowed. It was built in 1742 by Thomas Draper, of Boston, and 
is believed to be the oldest press in America. Printers were much in- 
terested in it, and many had the pleasure of "pulling" a sheet on it. 
The old press was exhibited at the World's Fair. 

Lewars & Company, a dock-ash range, with modern cocking utensils, 
which was placed alongside of Mrs. Mary C. Ransom's old time fire 
place and kitchen, to show the contrast between then and now. 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 269 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 



Indian Antiquities — Local Books and Portraits. 
Jesuit Relics — Closing Exercises. 



A space of twenty-three feet was occupied by more 
than 1,000 typical specimens from the well-known col- 
lection of Indian relics belonging to Mr. J. M. M. Ger- 
nerd, of Muncy. The various objects exhibited were 
nearly all found along the West Branch of the Susque- 
hanna River. They were arranged in thirty-two sep- 
arate classes, and formed a peculiarly instructive and 
attractive exhibit of the various articles of stone and 
baked clay that were used by the aborigines in this 
part of North America. They represented nearly all 
the imperishable articles that were used by them in 
war, hunting, fishing, social games and domestic life 
before the white man came to possess the new world, 
and they gave visitors some idea of the state of their 
civilization. The many more perishable articles made 
of wood, bone, cane, horn, shell, grass, leather, feathers, 
etc., and which would also be required to show to what 
Indian want and ingenuity had advanced, were, of 
course, all wanting. Chiefly objects of stone and clay 
are now left to testify of the taste, skill and require- 
ments of the generations of Indians who possessed 
this valley in prehistoric times. There were only four 
specimens of copper implements in the exhibit, but 
these — and the few possessed by other collectors — are 
enough to prove that native copper was also to some 
extent in use. 

34 



270 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The arrow-heads, spear-heads and lance-heads, the 
most numerous objects of Indian handiwork, and which 
also constituted the larger part of this educational ex- 
hibit, were neatly arranged on white paper cards, and 
were selected to represent a variety of patterns, the 
contrast, of size and material, and skill of workman- 
ship, that no doubt surprised and must certainly have 
delighted all visitors. The grooved stone axe, which, 
with the exception of the arrow-points and polished 
celts (deer skinners) and possibly hammer stones, is in 
this locality the most characteristic and best known of 
Indian relics, was represented by a number of the finest 
specimens from the owner's collection, and they showed 
a marked contrast in point of size and apparent utility. 
Many a visitor who knew how to handle the sharp- 
bladed iron axe doubtless wondered of what possible 
use such stone implements could be for working in 
wood. A series of pestles, varying in length from less 
than five to nearly twenty-three inches, with well worn 
ends, were interesting representations of the corn- 
crushers, and triturating stones, for which the Indians 
appeared to have a great deal of use. Maize, in fact, is 
known to have been a regular article of food with them. 

A number of small and beautifully fashioned stone 
hatchets, with holes drilled in them for handles, were 
marked "Ceremonial Weapons," and were evidently 
designed for the purpose that the name indicates. See 
Fig. 1. Antiquarians say that they were carried by 
the Indians merely as objects of ornament, or as badges 
of distinction, and they are therefore named "Cere- 
monial Weapons.''' Their lightness and the softness 
of the material of which most of them are made is 
against the idea of their having been of any more prac- 
tical use. Their beautiful finish and elegance of form 
indicates that much time was spent in making them, 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 271 

and that they were as highly valued by their original 
owners as by the antiquarians who now gather them 
up. 

A question that these implements suggest to almost 
every thoughtful observer is, how did their fabricators 
drill the holes in them without the use of metal? Mr. 
Gernerd's specimens show that at least two different 
methods were employed, as the holes in some are 
throughout their entire length strictly uniform in di- 
ameter, and smooth, while in others of equal length of 
bore they exhibit, annular striae, and are more or less 
tapering. In many broken and unfinished specimens 
in his collection he has also shown us that a central 
core exists, and that in other examples the bottom of 
the incomplete hole is entirely concave, or cup-shaped. 
There are certain drill marks that also seem to indicate 
more than one mode of boring. 

To some visitors the most interesting part of this 
exhibit seemed to be the fine array of tobacco pipes. 
These were made of soapstone, clay-stone and baked 
clay. A unique and delicate specimen was the soap- 
stone "Moccasin" pipe, of which Fig. 2 is a full size 
representation. 

The singular double-face baked clay pipe shown 
in profile and full size, by Fig. 3, and the 
moccasin pipe, were found many years ago by 
Mr. Gernerd on the Indian town site between 
the location of the "ancient fortification" and 
the mouth of Muncy Creek. The Rev. Stephen 
B. Peet, in his American Antiquarian for May, 
1886, gives three different illustrations of this two- 
faced pipe in a paper on "Human Faces in Aboriginal 
Art," and says: "Two human faces are moulded into 
the pipe; one possibly intended to represent the male, 
the other the female. The faces are grotesque and 



272 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

semi-comic, the eye being especially the object which 
was caricatured." The largest of the pipes in this 
exhibit was a beautiful and highly ornamented baked 
clay specimen that was found at Watsontown after the 
great June flood of 1889. 

Fig. 4 represents a curious art delineation of a com- 
bination of the head and jaws of some reptile (perhaps 
an alligator) and the head and face of a human being, 
as will be seen if the cut is held in different positions. 
This pipe was found near Jersey Shore, and the ma- 
terial is soapstone. All the pipes were interesting, 
and many pages would be required to give a full history 
and description of them. They were not merely the 
means of enjoying the narcotic effects of tobacco smoke, 
but they were used as symbols of friendship, and of 
peace and war. They were invested with great sanc- 
tity, and by their agency the Great Spirit was asked 
for favors, or propitiation was made to allay his anger. 
One of the most valued and finely wrought in the Ger- 
nerd exhibit, and one on which the maker evidently 
spent many patient hours in its ornamentation, is the 
baked clay pipe shown full size by Fig. 5. It was 
taken some years ago from the great sepulchral mound 
near Hall's Station. Of this pipe and the now almost 
obliterated structure in which it was found, a full and 
interesting account is given in the third volume of 
Gernerd's Now and Then. 

Space will not permit notice of all the classes of im- 
plements of this admired exhibit. They would have 
furnished material for a volume. They were represen- 
tative specimens from a collection that it has taken 
forty-five years to accumulate. There were other groups 
of articles marked as celts, gouges, picks, hoes, drills, 
perforators, flakers, knives, sinkers, plummets, gorgets, 
bunts, disk-scrapers, polishing-stones, paint-stones, 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 273 

discoidal-stones, hammer stones and some objects were 
not named, probably because their use was not known. 
An assortment of rusty and formidable looking iron 
tomahawks, of various patterns and of a later historical 
era — Fig. 6 represents one — two we noted were labeled 
"From the battle-field of the Muncy Hills, 1763"— re- 
called to mind the distressing scenes when the revenge- 
ful savages came back to the West Branch Valley to 
plunder, tomahawk and scalp the almost unprotected 
settlers, when so many of the able-bodied men were 
away with the army under Washington. Could these 
weapons of war speak, they would doubtless tell us 
of dark and bloody deeds. 

There were also fragments of nearly one hundred 
single specimens of pottery, to which we must yet give 
a passing notice. They are of special interest, because 
they especially show that while the primitive artists — 
who in this line of art were the women — were con- 
spicuously imitative and but little inventive in one 
respect, they were nevertheless rather original and 
clever in another sense. The forms of the decorations 
are but few and simple, being nothing more than 
straight, parallel and zigzag lines, notches, incisions, 
dots, and now and then small perforations near the rim. 
Mr. Gernerd says, however, that he has never found 
pieces of two vessels that were embellished exactly 
alike, which fact shows that the decorators displayed 
some degree of taste and originality in their work. We 
have borrowed four cuts from Now and Then — Figs. 7 
to 10 — which give a good general idea of the style and 
latitude of ornamentation, indicated by the many frag- 
ments collected. 

While these vessels of the aboriginal fictile art were 
rather fragile — one is very rarely found entire in this 
section of the country — it is fortunate that so many 



274 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

fragments have come clown to show what embryonal 
conceptions of beauty in design the untutored Indian 
women had, and how the glorious light of civilization 
had commenced to dawn upon them. The pottery art 
has long been recognized as having a peculiar historic 
value as a registrar of human progress. How and when 
did it originate among these humble children of the 
forest? And how many visitors realized the fact that 
the many fine porcelain wares that graced the centen- 
nial exhibit, were the lineal descendants from just such 
pottery made by our ancestors when they were unlet- 
tered savages in their "stone ages?" These fragments 
were not showy, but they were the oldest fictile speci- 
mens on exhibition, and had a value that perhaps many 
visitors failed to appreciate. 

MR. M'uVIINN'S EXHIBIT. 

J. H. McMinn, one flint-lock musket with bayonet, a 
relic of the Revolution, preserved in the family of Lt. 
Col. Henry Antes, of Antes Fort; one French dress 
sword, a relic from Brandy wine; one old-style cavalry 
sabre from the late civil war; one Japanese hari-kari 
knife and sheath; one Mexican stiletto, carved bone 
handle; bunch of steel-pointed arrows from the Western 
Indians; other swords and accoutrements, relics of the 
American war; Swede and German sabots, etc. 

In front of the centennial building was erected a solid 
pillar of pure anthracite coal from the Wyoming Valley, 
which weighed almost three tons, and made a most im- 
posing appearance. 

One case containing several thousand specimens of 
stone and pottery implements of prehistoric origin, 
comprising a large number of white, rose and green 
quartz arrow-heads from Virginia, arranged as an im- 
mense spear-head; all the classified varieties of arrow- 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 275 

heads, spears, knives, etc., arranged in large representa- 
tion, found in the West Branch Valley of the Susque- 
hanna. Comparative specimens from other locali- 
ties; a large assortment of stone grooved axes and 
tomahawks, celts, round and flat; pestle of perfect form 
and finish; hammer, mullers, sinkers, gorgets, amulets, 
tokens, etc., altogether affording one of the most in- 
structive features of the exhibition and presented in a 
most attractive form. 

The wool and flax spinning wheels, reel, flax hackle, 
wool combs and other paraphernalia, was mostly the 
property of the King family, who settled at Jaysburg 
over a century ago. The genuine commission of Lieut. 
William King, in the army of the Revolution. 

Implements belonging to the early settlers of Bloom- 
ingrove; exact copy of the first map of Lycoming 
County, showing streams, settlements, population, dis- 
tances and improvements in the West Branch Valley; 
looking-glass and fireplace utensils, brought into the 
valley by the Buttons and Bennetts. 

Also an interesting collection of old newspapers, 
among which were the following: London Public Ad- 
vertiser, April 22, 1763; Boston Gazette, March 12, 1770; 
Lycoming Chronicle, July 15, 1835; first issue of the 
Philadelphia Public Ledger, March 25, 183G; first copy 
of the West Branch Bulletin, June 15, 1860 ; first copy of 
the Williamsport Daily Times, July 2, 1860; first copy of 
the daily Gazette and Bulletin, November 22, 1869. 

JESUIT RELICS. 

Hon. Charles Tubbs, of Osceola, Tioga County, ex- 
hibited a candlestick crudely wrought in red pipe stone, 
and a silver plate. The candlestick is in two pieces. 
The base is rectangular, 2£x2fxf. This is surmounted 



276 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

by the upright piece which rises 1| inches from the 
base in rectangular form, which at this place changes 
to cylindrical shape. The total height is 5^ inches. 
Four dowels of native lead project upward from the 
base and fit into corresponding holes in the upright. 
These hold the two parts together. The bore in the 
top to receive the candle is lfxf inches in diameter. 
The silver plate is 4f inches in diameter. The rim 
is £ inches wide. The upper surface is gold washed. 
The under surface is inscribed with the Roman capital 
letters IHS, the familiar initials of the Latin words, 
Iesus Hominum Saviour — Jesus the Saviour of Men. 
Each letter is f inches high, and a Roman cross 6-8 
inches is engraved thereon, having its base on the centre 
of the bars of the letter H. 

These relics were found in 1872, on the north bank 
of the Cowanesque River, near the mouth of the north 
fork, two miles above Westfield, by workmen while dig- 
ging for the foundation of a saw mill, about four feet 
below the surface. There were two candlesticks, one 
of which was carelessly given away and lost. Mr. 
Tubbs, who is now the owner of the duplicate, believes 
that these articles were part of the furniture of a Roman 
Catholic altar, overcome at this place by some unknown 
catastrophe and buried by the debris brought down by 
the shifting currents of the river. It is a well-known 
historical fact that the French Jesuit missionaries 
were located among the Iroquois as early as 1625 in 
Central and Western New York, and that they prose- 
cuted their labors among these people for about a cen- 
tury and a half thereafter. As the valley of the Cowan- 
esque was clearly within the dominion of the Iroquois, it 
is not strange that some zealous missionary may have 
met his fate here and his altar was overthrown. 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 277 

RARE BOOKS AND RELICS. 

John F. Meginness, large book-case containing 225 
books, mostly relating to state and local history, biog- 
raphy and genealogy. Many of these books are ex- 
tremely rare and valuable, and the collection attracted 
much attention — especially from ladies and gentlemen 
interested in the history of this part of the state and the 
brave men and women who faced danger in the perilous 
days of the Revolution in the valley of the Susquehanna. 

He also exhibited a full set of his own books, thirteen 
in number, exquisitely bound and ornamented by John 
D. Lingle, of Sunbury. In contrast with these books 
were shown several published and bound one hundred 
years ago. Notably among them was a medical book 
which once belonged to Dr. William Plunkett, of Sun- 
bury, printed in London in 1749, with prescriptions writ- 
ten on the fly leaves by his own hand. Also a rare book 
entitled "A View of the United States of America," by 
Tench Coxe, and published in Philadelphia and London 
in 1794. 

Large English brick taken from the arch of the maga- 
zine of Fort Augusta, Sunbury, with a piece of 
mortar or cement firmly adhering to it. This fort was 
built under the direction of the Provincial authorities 
in 1756, and the magazine, which is underground, is the 
last vestige in the upper Susquehanna Valley of any of 
the Provincial works of defense against the Indians. 
The magazine is still in good condition, and if protected 
will last another century. In connection with the brick 
was a large photograph showing the mound over the 
magazine, and the entrance thereto. 

Nine large photographs, mounted and enclosed in a 
frame, representing scenes on the streets of Williams- 
port when the destructive flood of 1889 was at its height. 

35 



278 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Frame enclosing autograph and writing of Capt. John 
Brady in 1770; autograph of Samuel Stewart, first 
sheriff of Lycoming County, 1795-1798; autograph of 
Brattan Caldwell, the great Fair Play leader, in 1796; 
autograph of Michael Ross, founder of William sport, 
in 1796; autograph of John Cummings, w T ho became the 
second sheriff of Lycoming County, as foreman of the 
grand jury at May sessions, 1797. 

Engraving showing the grave of Capt. John Brady 
in the cemetery at Halls, where he was laid at rest after 
being shot by lurking Indians in April, 1779; and of the 
cenotaph erected in the cemetery at Muncy in 1879 by 
dollar contributions solicited by J. M. M. Gernerd, to aid 
in perpetuating his memory. 

Ideal portrait of Shikellimy, the good Indian vice- 
king, who died at Shamokin (now Sunbury) in Decem- 
ber, 1748, and was buried by the Moravians in the In- 
dian graveyard near where Fort Augusta was after- 
wards built. 

Imaginary picture of the stockade knowm as Fort 
Freeland, captured and burned by the British, Tories 
and Indians, July 28, 1779, with photograph showing the 
old brick house which stands on the site. 

Photograph of the old stone building, known as Fort 
Bice, at Montgomery's (in Paradise), near where Fort 
Freeland stood. 

Engraving of the primitive log house in which Col. 
Samuel Hunter, commandant of Fort Augusta, lived 
and died. It stood just outside of the walls of the fort, 
and a sketch was made of it while still standing. 

BRADY MEMORIALS. 

Mrs. Willis Taylor, small ceremonial sword, about 
eighteen inches in length, encased in a silver scabbard, 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 279 

with the name of Sam. Brady engraved thereon, with 
the date of appointment. 

This beautiful little sword carries one back in imagi- 
nation to the days when the members of the Brady 
family were actors in the thrilling scenes which were 
of such frequent occurrence in this valley. 

It does not clearly appear who this young Sam. Brady 
was. The illustrious Sam., who was distinguished as 
a scout and fighter, was the uncle, no doubt, of the 
owner of the sword, and died in 1795. The records in 
the War Department, at Washington, refer to this 
young officer as follows: 

Samuel Brady, born in and appointed from Pennsylvania, was ap- 
pointed an ensign in the Twenty-second United States Infantry May 
20, 1813, and accepted his appointment from Vincennes June 15, 1813; 
promoted third lieutenant April 2, 1814; first lieutenant October 1, 
1814; transferred to Eiglijth Infantry, upon the re-organization of the 
army to peace establishment, May 17, 1815, and died February 17, 1816. 

It is probable that he was a son of Sam. Brady the 
first, elder brother of Captain John, and uncle of Cap- 
tain Sam, second, who was a son of John, and through 
his uncle, Gen. Hugh Brady, who was an officer under 
Wayne and served with Scott in the war of 1812, re- 
ceived his appointment in the army, and the miniature 
sword was probably a gift from his friends as a testi- 
monial of their esteem for the young officer and as a 
recognition of the line of Sam. Brady having been 
honored to the third generation. When young Sam. 
died the sword descended to William P. Brady, the hero 
of the battle of Lake Erie, and grandson of Capt. John 
Brady, who was killed near Muncy in 1779. At his 
death at Harrisburg, April 4, 1864, where he was serving 
as sergeant-at-arms of the Senate, the sword descended 
to his son (whose widow now lives in Lock Haven), and 
was loaned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Willis Taylor, 
and exhibited in the collection of John F. Meginness. 



280 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

In the above collection Mrs. Taylor also exhibited a 
large silver medal presented to her grandfather, W. P. 
Brady, by direction of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, 
in recognition of his services with Commodore Perrj' 
in the battle of Lake Erie, September 10, 1813. It is 
a rare and valuable heirloom. 

PORTRAIT GALLERY. 

Surrounding the exhibit of Mr. Meginness, but not 
forming a part thereof, were portraits in oil of many of 
the early representative men and women of Williams- 
port. These portraits were placed there by descend- 
ants, and they formed a conspicuous and attractive fea- 
ture of the exhibition. They were as follows : 

Hon. William Hepburn, soldier, State Senator, mer- 
chant, and president of the associate judges for ten 
years; was largely instrumental in having Lycoming 
erected April 13, 1795; died June 25, 1821, aged 68 years. 

Charles Huston, one of the three first members of the 
bar in 1795. He rose to the supreme bench of the state, 
and died at Bellefonte, November 10, 1849, in his 80th 
year. 

Robert McClure, contemporary with Judge Huston 
as a member of the bar; married a daughter of Judge 
Hepburn and died December 13, 1829, while serving as 
State Senator. 

Henry D. Ellis, father of Mrs. W. G. Elliot; born in 
1802, near Pennsdale; studied law, settled in Williams- 
port and became prominent at the bar. Died July 22, 
1851. 

Josiah Emery, born in New Hampshire in 1801; died 
in Williamsport June 7, 1884; was prominent as an edu- 
cator, author and member of the bar. For nine years 
he served as a member of the Williamsport School 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 281 

Board, and in recognition of his valuable services the 
"Emery Building" was named for him. 

Capt. Joseph Grafius, born at York, Pa., April 1, 1795 ; 
settled in Williamsport early and was the leader of the 
first brass band. 

Hon. Apollos Woodward and wife, who were married 
in 1803. Mr. Woodward was born in England Feb- 
ruary 13, 1775, and died June 21, 1858. He was coroner 
of Lycoming County in 1807 and associate judge from 
1851 to 1856. In early life he evinced a taste for the mili- 
tary and the Woodward Guards was named for him. 
He was one of the school teachers in Williamsport as 
early as 1804. Mr. Woodward married a daughter of 
Peter Vanderbelt and they had a large family. 

Dr. William Ross, son of the founder. Born in 1791, 
died December 23, 1818, soon after his graduation at a 
medical college. Descendants of Michael Ross have 
always claimed that Williamsport was named for Wil- 
liam Ross. 

A. Boyd Cummings, born at Williamsport April 22, 
1807; died at Philadelphia March 1, 1891. Mr. Cum- 
mings gave Brandon Park to the city of Williamsport 
a short time before his death. 

Gen. Robert Fleming, an old time member of the Ly- 
coming County bar and well remembered by older citi- 
zens. He was born near Lock Haven May 12, 1801, and 
died in Williamsport May 30, 1874. Was one of counsel 
in the celebrated murder trial of John Earls in 1836; 
State Senator in 1836, and a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1837-8, and again a Senator in 1839. 

Andrew Doz Hepburn, one of the earliest merchants 
and leading business men. Born at Northumberland 
March 10, 1784; settled in Williamsport about 1802, and 
died March 6, 1861. He was a nephew of Judge Wil- 
liam Hepburn. 



282 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Ralph Elliot, an old time merchant, and father of ex- 
Mayor W. G. Elliot. Born in Ireland November 22, 
1798, and died at Williamsport April 1, 1889, in his 92d 
year. 

Tunison Coryell, well remembered as a prominent and 
representative citizen. He was born in Hunterdon 
County, New Jersey, June 13, 1791, settled in Williams- 
port permanently about 1812, and died there August 8, 
1881, in his 91st year. Few men of his time were more 
closely identified with the progress and development of 
Williamsport than Mr. Coryell. 

Dr. Thomas Lyon, one of the early physicians of Wil- 
liamsport. Born at Pennsdale, October 13, 1812, and 
died in Williamsport January 2, 1893. At the time of 
his death he was the second oldest physician in continu- 
ous practice in Lycoming County. 

Dr. W. F. Logan, physician and druggist, was a native 
of Westmoreland County, where he was born August 
14, 182G. Settled here in 1859; was twice Mayor of 
Williamsport (1867 and 1878), and postmaster under 
Cleveland's first administration. Died December 20, 
1892. 

Henry and John White, prominent and well remem- 
bered business men. They were sons of Col. Hugh 
White, of the Revolution, and were born near Pine 
Creek; John, November 4, 1818, died June 3, 1890; 
Henry, August 7, 1820, died March 7, 1880. 

John B. Beck, born in York County, Pa., February 
5, 1813; settled in Williamsport in 1839; served as sheriff 
of Lycoming County from 1850 to 1853; was a member 
of the Legislature in 1853, 1862 and 1863, and of the 
State Senate in 1867. He died in October, 1890. 

Gov. William F. Packer, born April 2, 1807, in Centre 
County; learned the trade of a printer and settled in 
Williamsport in the early part of the twenties; in 1827 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 283 

he became one of the editors and publishers of the Ly- 
coming Gazette. He was a canal commissioner in 1839, 
and in 1842 Auditor General of the state; member of 
the Legislature in 1847 and State Senator in 1849. In 
the fall of 1857 he was elected Governor of Pennsyl- 
vania, served his term, and died at Williamsport Sep- 
tember 27, 1870. 

Daniel Repasz, founder of the famous Repasz band of 
Williamsport, and a musician of high standing, was 
born in Clinton Township, Lycoming County, April 18, 
1813, and died in Williamsport November 21, 1891. He 
had been a resident of Williamsport for fifty years and 
was the last of the original members of the band which 
he founded in 1856. He served as an alderman in the 
Third Ward of Williamsport for a quarter of a century. 

Abraham Updegraff, born in Williamsport June 17, 
1808, and died April 17, 1884. He was a leading and 
active business man during his life and was promi- 
nently identified with every movement calculated to 
benefit the city. He was the prime mover in the organi- 
zation of the First National Bank in 1863; was its first 
president, and served in that capacity for many years. 

Maj. James H. Perkins, one of the early lumber manu- 
facturers of Williamsport and builder of the first boom 
in 1849, was born in New Hampshire, March 13, 1803, 
and died in Williamsport in 1894 ; was one of the charter 
members of the Savings Institution and its president 
for about a quarter of a century. He was the fifth 
Mayor of Williamsport, elected May 9, 1871. 

George W. Lentz, long a prominent lumber manufac- 
turer and banker, was born in Lebanon County, Pa., 
November 5, 1818, and settled in Williamsport about 
1840. For more than forty years he was prominently 
identified with various business operations. He died 
May 17, 1891. 



284 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Peter Herdic, born December 14, 1824, at Fort Plain, 
New York, and died February 2, 1888. Of his history 
and wonderful enterprise, and what he did towards 
starting Williamsport on the high road to prosperity, 
it is unnecessary to speak here, as the story of his life 
is still fresh in the minds of the people. He was elected 
Mayor of Williamsport October 12, 1869, and was the 
fourth in the line. 

August Koch, Sr., and wife. He was born in the 
kingdom of Wurtemberg, Germany, April 1, 1807, came 
to Williamsport in 1850, and engaged in the milling 
and brewing business in what is now South Williams- 
port. He died May 10, 1873. 

Charles Allen, born in Hunterdon County, New Jer- 
sey, September 21, 1791, and came to Lycoming County 
with his parents about 1800. Settled on the south side 
of the river, opposite Williamsport, and engaged in 
farming. Served in the war of 1812 and drove a wagon 
from Williamsport to Black Rock. He died May 1, 
1882, in the 91st year of his age. 

Near the foregoing group were portraits of the fol- 
lowing: John Tallman, the painter; Seth T. McCor- 
mick, member of the bar and father of the present At- 
torney General of Pennsylvania; Robert M. Forsman; 
Robert P. Allen, member of the bar and State Senator; 
ex-Sheriff John Piatt ; Charles Doebler, once identified 
with the old United States Hotel; Major Embick; Mrs. 
E. M. Hartshorn; Mrs. William Biddle; Mrs. Puget, wife 
of the Rear Admiral; Mr. Van Ness and John Staib. 

A TRUNK WITH A HISTORY. 

Mrs. Edgar Munson exhibited a curious and very 
ancient little box, or miniature trunk, which has been 
owned in her family for about 243 years. This little 
trunk is about fifteen inches long, eight wide and four 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 285 

high ; is covered with leather, studded with rows of nails 
and fastened with a lock and key. It was owned by one 
of her ancestors, either Sir William Preston, one of the 
settlers of the colony of New Haven in the middle of 
the seventeenth century, or by Judge Daniel Johnson, 
a trial justice under the King in early colonial days. 
Founded upon family tradition, this box was used by 
a member of Parliament to contain his official papers, 
there being neither in early days, or at the present time, 
any such conveniences as desks or tables in the English 
Parliament for its members' use. 

Pasted on the inside of this ancient trunk is a printed 
portion of the journal of the House of Commons for 
May 7, 1652. This was a stormy period in English his- 
tory, and was at nearly the end of the famous "Kump" 
Parliament, which had condemned Charles I. to death, 
in January, 1649. Among the names mentioned in this 
journal is that of Col. Thomas Pride, one of those who 
tried and condemned to death Charles I., but better 
known as the author of "Pride's Purge," famous in Eng- 
lish parliamentary history. 

A copy of a portion of the journal will prove of inter- 
est as showing parliamentary forms of nearly two and 
a half centuries ago; the quotation is literal, f being 
used for s, and capitals went indiscriminately. 

"The Queftion being propounded, That the value upon 
sefcent be not exceeding a full year and a half's value; 
and the Queftion being put, that That Queftion be now 
put: 

The Houfe was divided. 

The noes went forth. 

Lord Grey, Mr. Bond, Tellers for the noes, with the 
noes, 33. 

Major Gen. Skippon, Colonel Marten, Tellers for the 
yeas, with the yeas, 22. 

36 



286 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

So it paffed with the Negative. 

The Queftion being propounded, That the value be 
not above one full year's value; 

And the Queftion being put, that That Queftion be 
now put; 

The Houfe was divided. 

The Noes went forth. 

Lord Munson, Mr. Bond, Tellers for the Noes, with 
the Noes, 21. 

Lord Grey, Col. , Tellers for the yeas. With 

the yeas, 37. 

So it paffed with the affirmative." 

Curiously, this Lord Munson was a member of the 
same family from which Mr. Edgar Munson is de- 
scended. He was born in 1598, was created viscount by 
Charles I. in 1628, was prominent with the rebels in the 
days of the Commonwealth, was one of those who was 
at the King's trial, and after the Restoration was im- 
prisoned in the Tower of London for his part in the 
"Rump" Parliament, and died there in 1672. He is 
referred to by Pepys in his diary under date of Monday, 
27 January, 1601-2, thus: "This morning * * * * 
going to take water upon Tower Hill, we met three sled- 
des standing there to carry my Lord Munson and Sir 
N. Mildmay and another, to the gallows and back again, 
with ropes about their necks." 

Thus were Mugwumps treated in those days. In 
these more modern times those who disagree in politics 
take it out in newspaper vituperation. Then the halter, 
gallows and the prison for life was the punishment of 
those who were at variance with the party in power. 

Mrs. Edgar Munson also exhibited an embroidered 
dress 86 years old; infant's dress coat; black veil; white 
lace cap; bead chain; porte-monnaie; silver card case; 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 287 

ivory tablet; copy of the "Breeches"* Bible; towel and 
linen sheet, all very old. 

Mrs. C. LaRue Munson, set of Haviland china and 
tray; two Bellick cups and saucers; Vienna cup; rug; 
large flag; one plate of a set of twelve owned by Mrs. 
Munson, and which once belonged to Louis Philippe, 
King of France; ancient girdle and necklace made of 
gold Bible clasps in Holland. 

C. LaRue Munson, Esq., exhibited a silhouette of Hon. 
Joseph B. Anthon}', who became judge of the VIHth 
Judicial District, by appointment of Governor Porter 
in 1844. Judge Anthony was born in Philadelphia 
June 19, 1795, and died in Williamsport January 10, 
1850. He served in the State Senate and Congress be- 
tween 1830 and 1840. His wife was a Miss Grafius, of 
Williamsport. 

MRS. RANSOM'S KITCHEN. 

One of the most interesting as well as curious places 
to visit in the exposition building, was the old time 
kitchen presided over by Mrs. Mary C. Ransom. It 
was fully equipped with all the paraphernalia of the 
pioneer cabin of a hundred years ago. Nothing used in 
housekeeping at that time seemed to be wanting. The 
trammel and crane hung in the fireplace, which was 
wide and capacious; the pots and kettles were there and 
a "back log," half consumed, lay next to the chimney, 
while ancient andirons kept the fuel in place. A string 
of "snitz" was noticed hanging against the wall to dry; 

♦The "Breeches Bible" is a translation of the Geneva Bible made 
by Beza in 1559. It takes its name from the following rendering of 
Genesis III. 7: "Then 'the eyes of them both were opened, and they 
knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig tree leaves together 
and made themselves breeches." There are many other curious things 
in this translation. One is the substitution of the letter v for u, and 
vice versa, u for v. Copies of the "Breeclhes Bible" are extremely 
rare. This is the only copy known in Williamsport, and there is said 
to be one in Wilkes-Barre.— Ed. 



288 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

there were the bunches of herbs undergoing the same 
process; a few old books found a place on the shelf, and 
the rifle and hunting bag rested on a rack over the fire- 
place. 

In the furniture line there were split-bottomed chairs 
and the old-style dough-tray in a corner; the Boone 
bureau was the most conspicuous article of furniture, 
and a small looking-glass, probably from the father- 
land, hung against the wall. And last but not least, 
there was a typical cradle, such as our grandfathers and 
grandmothers were rocked in, with a plump doll baby 
sleeping therein; and to make the illusion more com- 
plete, the cradle was rocked by a little girl who was a 
descendant of one of the early settlers of Williamsport. 

Mrs. Eansom, attired in a costume of early times, 
not omitting the typical ruffled cap worn by matrons 
of those days, welcomed all visitors with that degree 
of frankness and charming sociability for which she is 
noted, and made all feel at home in her cabin. Older 
visitors on being welcomed and invited to take a 
"cheer," had their recollections carried back to the time 
/when the pot, in reality, hung on the crane, and the 
latch-string of the cabin door was always out when the 
inmates were at home. She had hundreds of visitors 
daily, and all were warmly welcomed and entertained 
in that free, open manner which always ruled in the 
cabin of the pioneer. 

MR. ELDON'S EXHIBIT. 

Charles H. Eldon, taxidermist, 331 West Fourth 
Street, Williamsport, whose skill in the taxidermic art 
is widespread, made a showing of special pieces, viz: 
"Only Just Caught," was truly a wonderful production. 
It represented an owl in the act of catching a rabbit just 
as it was entering its burrow. The piece was a natural 



SPECIAL HISTORICAL EXHIBITS. 289 

winter scene, and so faithfully was nature and her ways 
reproduced, that one almost fancied he felt the chill of 
winter, and heard the despairing squeak of poor bunny 
as the cruel claws of the owl sunk securely in its flesh. 

"Who's That Knocking?" claimed the thoughtful ad- 
miration of the observer. An old hollow trunk of a 
tree, a red-headed woodpecker perched upon its side 
was industriously carving his mark upon the rough 
bark. A squirrel from above, looking through the ever 
open door of his dwelling place, tells the story. 

The wild turkey, with his beard fully twelve inches 
long; the sheet of lustrous bronze which adorned each 
wing, and the beautiful and ever changing opalescent 
shades of the neck and back feathers, told the story of 
his full life, and that death came when nature had 
adorned him for the season of selective attachment and 
in honor of his bride. 

The case of quail, showing that they are polygamous 
in their marital relations, occasioned many amusing- 
comments. 

The grey eagle (a young bald eagle^ two years old), 
perched upon artificial rock work, with outstretched 
wings and ever watchful look from his elevated position, 
kept guard over the scene beneath. 

A magnificent buffalo head, true to nature in form, 
though inanimate, looked defiance from a pair of bright 
and glaring eyes from his position on the wall. This 
piece of work was labeled "The last of his race." 

Then there was a beautiful spotted fawn, scarcely a 
week old, lying at ease on its bed of earth. Its mild 
and pleasing look of innocence elicited universal ad- 
miration. And last but not the least observed, was the 
leap frog scene. Where is the man or boy that has not 
done just what these frogs were made to appear to do? 
Both old and young were moved alike to think of scenes 



290 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

in early childhood, and as some pleasant recollection 
came to their minds, they quietly smiled and passed on. 

ENTERTAINMENTS. 

Under the direction of Mrs. H. W. Watson, chairman 
of the committee on entertainments, assisted by Mrs. 
James B. Coryell, there were interesting divertisements 
nearly every evening while the exhibition lasted. Ref- 
erence has already been made to the informal recep- 
tion by the Ladies' Auxiliary on the opening night (Mon- 
day, July 1,) and it need not be repeated here. Music 
was furnished by the Lettan & Chappell full orchestra. 
County Auditor C. Thomas McClarin was first to pur- 
chase a ticket, and the first man to pass the turnstile 
into the exposition when the door was opened. 

Tuesday July 2. — Historical tableaux en costume; 
flag drill by a number of young ladies, led by Sara Up- 
degraff; singing, "Columbia the Gem of the Ocean," by 
the young ladies dressed in national costume; tableaux, 
"The Landing of William Penn," and "Penn's Treaty 
with the Indians," John B. Embick, Esq., taking the 
part of William Penn. 

The Washington reception by the Washington fam- 
ily, Washington represented by George Crocker. Mrs. 
G. M. Repasz sang the character song, "I'm Sixty-two 
To-day," accompanied on a piano 103 years old by 
Charles Gleim. In response to an encore they sang 
"Coming Through the Rye." The Distin Band played 
popular selections during the evening. 

Wednesday, July 3. — The Fisk Band furnished music 
during the afternoon. In the evening the tableaux 
were repeated, with two Indian scenes. Miss Sara 
Updegraff sang the "Star Spangled Banner" in national 
costume; Mr. Charles Gleim sang "Ben Bolt," and the 
Repasz Band played during the evening. 



ENTERTAINMENTS. 291 

Thursday, July 4.— The P. O. S. of A. Band, of New- 
berry, furnished music during the afternoon, and the 
Repasz Band gave a concert in the evening. The at- 
tendance during the day and evening was very great, 
the hall most of the time being crowded to excess. 

Friday, July 5. — The Distin Band gave a concert in 
the evening, which was listened to by a large audience. 

Saturday, July 6. — The Stopper & Fisk full orchestra 
gave a delightful concert during the afternoon. The 
Distin Band furnished music during the evening. This 
same evening Mrs. Phoebe Riddell, here on a visit from 
Indian Territory to her native place, gave an exhibition 
of flax spinning, to show the young ladies of this gen- 
eration how their grandmothers manipulated the wheel 
in the olden time. 

Monday, July 8. — The singing section of the Wil- 
liamsport Turn Verein rendered several selections, and 
the Repasz Band gave another of their charming con- 
certs. 

Tuesday, July 9. — This was children's day from 7 A. 
M. to 5 P. M., when the admission was reduced to ten 
and five cents. A large number of children availed 
themselves of the reduced price of admission. In the 
evening the Repasz Band continued its delightful con- 
cert and Miss Mame Hagan sang. 

Wednesday, July 10. — The exposition closed this 
evening with a special musical program arranged by 
Mrs. James B. Coryell, and an oratorical program ar- 
ranged by the chairman. The musical program was: 
A double quartette — "Oh My Love is Like a Red, Red 
Rose." Solo — Answer by Trevette Maffet. Recitation 
— "Madeline," by W. E. Ransom, Esq. Solo — Miss May 
Saylor. Double quartette — "The Miller's Daughter." 
Solo— "The Heavenly City," Trevette Maffet. Recita- 
tion — "Just Before Christmas," James D. Hawley. 



292 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Solo— "I'll Follow Thee," Miss May Savior. "The Smith 
Family," a burlesque curtain song, by Misses Updegraff 
and Savior, and Messrs. Maffet and Harry S. Meyer, 
Mrs. James B. Coryell, accompanist. 

The closing* exercises were largely attended and all 
expressed deep regret that the exhibition was to come 
to an end. It had been a source of great pleasure as 
well as instruction, and a strong pressure was brought 
to bear on Chairman Champion to extend the time, but 
as it had been publicly announced that the close would 
take place on that date, and as the employes and the 
chairman found their physical strength almost ex- 
hausted from the constant strain of excitement and 
labor to which they had been subjected for more than 
two weeks, it was deemed best to end the exhibition. 

ADDRESS BY MR. COLLINS. 

The closing addresses were made by N. M. Edwards, 
Esq., W. W. Achenbach, Esq., and Hon. Emerson Col- 
lins. Messrs. Edwards and Achenbach spoke briefly. 
The address of Mr. Collins, which was more elaborate, 
was as follows: 

The centennial celebration in commemoration of the 
organization of Lycoming County is about to become a 
thing of the past. Held to recall and revivify history, it 
is itself about to become history. A century hence, 
when our descendants, blessed by the overflowing pros- 
perity and bounty which no patriotic American doubts 
will attend them, shall celebrate the two hundredth 
anniversary of our county's organization, this event now 
closing will loom large and resplendent amid the annals 
which will form the mighty background of their jubilee. 
Let us hope for them that their commemorative effort 
will be crowned with the gratifying and exhilarating 
measure of success which crowns this one. Every note 



ADDRESS BY MR. COLLINS. 293 

in these closing moments of this centenary festival is 
discordant that does not sound the pean of praise. Be- 
yond the dreams of the sanguine, despite the doubts of 
the doubters, the fears of the fearful, this centennial 
has been successful. Where so many have contributed 
to effect this consummation it may be most prudent, in 
order that no deserving name be overlooked, to single 
out none for pre-eminent mention. But the people 
thoroughly understand who have "borne the heat and 
brunt of the battle," who laid the plans and put their 
toil arid talent into the work, and to them a just meed 
of honor will be cheerfully accorded by the people, ever 
mindful of honest merit, earnest endeavor and intelli- 
gent leadership. 

This centennial has served a two-fold purpose. It 
has with splendid demonstration honored the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of this county. It has enlivened 
our recollections of the past and in the broad perspec- 
tive of ten decades has given abundant opportunity to 
deepen and strengthen our reverence for the hardy, 
devoted, sagacious pioneers who first carried the sun- 
shine of civilization into the gloomy depths of the for- 
bidding wilderness. To all who have had privilege to 
visit or read of this wondrous exhibition, it has made 
more real all the luminous epochs that throng our 
transplendent history from the firing of that shot at 
Concord "heard round the world" to the triumph of a 
ransomed and restored Union at Appomattox. 

It has thus well served a commemorative purpose; 
but it has done more and another thing than that. It 
has served to assist to prepare us for the future duties 
of an enlightened citizenship. It has made the heritage 
of our institutions more precious. It has intensified 
patriotism and given birth to many a firm resolve that 
the splendor of our country's past achievements shall be 

37 



294 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

dimmed by no future false act of retrogression. Every 
school room within the limits of this county will feel 
the freshening, stimulating- effect of this revival of the 
memories of the past. It will develop a taste and love 
for local history. Research into the truths that lie at 
the base of our institutions powerfully fosters a stead- 
fastness for these institutions and an unyielding de 
termination to maintain them. The work of a Megin- 
ness, a McMinn, a Gernerd, a Champion, in their noble 
devotion in rescuing from the mists and decay of a 
slumbering past the history and relics of those by-gone 
times, and in making the things of the "days that are 
no more" live again in the present, will inspire others 
to emulate their example and follow their lead. Who 
can look upon the rusty musket that spoke for Liberty 
in '76, or the faded uniform worn amid the pitiless hail 
of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania and not be a better 
patriot? Who can contemplate, as here so many 
thousands have, the vast improvement of a century in 
all that goes to make labor lighter and life brighter and 
not fill with love for a land affording the opportunity 
for such incomparable progress? Who could witness 
that inspiring parade of the Sunday School children 
in the earlier days of this centennial and not be exalted 
in the thought that the Christian religion and its sub- 
lime truths are growing ever stronger in the land? 

And so, my fellow citizens, this centennial event, giv- 
ing expression to our feelings of reverence for the past 
and nourishing a healthful sentiment for the future, 
justly evokes our gratification and calls forth a gener- 
ous word of praise for all who have contributed to its 
success from Director General to the humblest factor 
therein. Enkindled by the memories of the departed 
years, rejoicing in the abounding prosperity of the pres- 
ent, serene in our confidence in the future and ever re- 



BRIEF REVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 295 

lying upon that Divine favor which has so graciously 
blessed this happy land, we go forth upon the second 
century of our county's existence. Our mingled feel- 
ings of gratitude for what has gone before and faith 
in that which is to come may be fitly expressed in the 
beautiful words of the Quaker poet: 

Our Father's God, from out whose hand 
The centuries fall like grains of sand, 
We meet to-day, united, free, 
And loyal to our land and Thee, 
To thank Thee for the era done, 
And trust Thee for the opening one. 

BRIEF REVIEW. 

Thus closed the brilliant exposition; and already it 
has become a memory of the past. It was the grandest 
affair ever witnessed in Lycoming County, and its like 
will probably not be seen again until the descendants 
of those who took part in it celebrate the close of the 
second century in 1995. Vast changes will have taken 
place by that time, and a broad smile will illumine the 
countenances of the people when they contemplate our 
style of living, the furnishings of our homes, agricul- 
tural implements, mechanical knowledge and appliance 
thereof, and they will look upon us much as we now 
look upon our ancestors of one hundred years ago. Our 
descendants will enjoy a higher civilization and greater 
advantages, but not proportionately greater than we 
enjoy, when compared with the comforts of those who 
lived a century ago. 

In this little book, which represents the condition of 
the typographic art in Williamsport in 1895, when the 
type-setting machine* had just been introduced, our 

*The type for this book was set by a Mergenthaler machine, the first 
introduced in Williamsport in 1895. These machines are regarded as 
ranking among the highest attainments of inventive genius in the clos- 
ing decade of the nineteenth century. 



296 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

descendants will find an exhaustive record of what we 
did on the occasion of the first centennial of Lycoming 
County. That they will be able to eclipse our demon- 
stration, both in variety, style, magnificence and num- 
bers, in 1995, there is little room for doubt; and many 
of our improvements and inventions of to-day will be 
looked upon by them as crude when compared with 
theirs. 

In closing this record some acknowledgment is due 
those who worked hardest to make the exposition a suc- 
cess, although it is impossible to mention all by name. 
To Col. Samuel Wilson, one of the charter members of 
the association, belongs the credit of raising more 
money by subscription among the business men of the 
city than any other man. The subscriptions he secured 
amounted to over $3,400. 

It has been shown how the Ladies' Auxiliary Com- 
mittee was organized and officered, and the grand work 
it accomplished. Without the co-operation and assist- 
ance of the ladies the brilliant success which crowned 
the exposition could not have been accomplished. No 
one cognizant of the labor involved will question the 
truth of this assertion. 

Maj. H. S. Lucas, who performed the onerous and 
responsible duties of Director General, labored faith- 
fully for four months to bring order out of chaos and 
effect an organization. He did his work well, accounted 
for every dollar, as his financial statements show, and 
retired with the thanks of the association. 

W. W. Champion, Esq., chairman of the antiquarian 
committee, had a mountain of labor imposed upon him. 
It was no easy task to set the machinery in motion to 
collect and display the vast aggregation of relics, 
curios, antiquities of a vanished race, and priceless heir- 
looms of ancestors, which adorned the great exposition 



BRIEF REVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 297 

hall, and amused, instructed and delighted the thou- 
sands of visitors who daily crowded its aisles. That he ac- 
complished the great work assigned him so successfully 
in three months was the wonder and admiration of the 
public. 

The employees in the building were subjected to ardu- 
ous service. A. M. Champion, chief clerk and director 
of the ticket selling department, was a tireless worker. 
Possessed of a marvelous activity, he seemed ubiquitous. 
Mrs. Mary Piatt Brown was the chief receiving clerk, 
assisted by Mrs. A. P. Atwater. For many days they 
were the busiest of the busy. They had not only to 
receive and label the thousands of articles which were 
in many instances hurled upon them, but had to record 
the name of the owner, and finally see that they were 
returned. This work not only involved executive abil- 
ity, but coolness and freedom from confusion. Their 
clerical work made it possible to compile the foregoing 
record of antiquities. Considering the rush and hurry 
that prevailed it is a source of wonder that they suc- 
ceeded so well. 

In the mechanical department W. W. Hicks had 
charge of the carpenters. Much work devolved upon 
them, as cases were to be arranged, shelves put in posi- 
tion, booths constructed and benches provided for the 
weary. Prof. John W. Gilmore, foreman of the "gath- 
ers," and chief door-keeper, was ever on the alert, and 
enjoyed few spare moments during the exhibition. 
Joseph G. Piatt served as detective, and had charge of 
the day watchmen. In this department great vigilance, 
as well as activity, were required to safely guard the 
thousands of rare and costly relics loaned for exhibi- 
tion. 

In order to facilitate the work of collecting and re- 
turning heavy exhibits in the city, the committee em- 



298 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

ployed Frank Green as drayman. He performed his 
work carefully and well. There were night as well as 
day watchmen, and John Loach served as janitor. 
Every precaution was taken for the protection and 
safety of the articles so generously loaned for display, 
and it is a matter of record that nothing of any value 
was lost and very few pieces were damaged or broken. 

EXHIBITORS AND EXHIBITS. 

Considering the hurry that had to be observed in re- 
ceiving and labeling goods with the names of the 
articles and owners, an exact record was hard to keep; 
and in a few instances articles were placed on exhibi- 
tion without the receiving clerks having any knowledge 
of the same. This will explain why some exhibitors 
are not mentioned — if there are any such — as memory 
could not be depended on to supply them long after the 
exhibition closed. 

A careful examination of the record books shows that 
there were 1,182 exhibitors, and their exhibits aggre- 
gated 14,823 separate pieces. To record all these 
names, together with the articles, within the limit of a 
few days required such a vast amount of labor, celerity 
and patience, as to almost render absolute accuracy 
impossible, and yet those who were familiar with the 
work will be surprised that so few errors occurred. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO THE PRESS. 

The hearty and enthusiastic support of the local press 
proved a powerful factor in making the celebration and 
exposition a success. All the daily and weekly papers 
of Williamsport vied with each other in keeping the 
matter before the people for months, and they published 
columns of matter daily giving information, historical 
and otherwise, relating to the centennial event. The 



BRIEF REVIEW AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 299 

Board of Managers and all the various committees re- 
turn their profound thanks to the Gazette and Bulletin, 
The Sun, The Times, News, Pennsylvania Grit, Beo- 
bachter and Tribune, for the valuable assistance they 
rendered in constantly keeping the object of the cen- 
tennial before the public. 

The press throughout the county, with possibly one 
exception, aided the movement from time to time by 
favorable notices, and encouragement of borough and 
township committees engaged in the work of collecting 
relics. The press of the adjoining counties also took 
a deep interest in the celebration, and did much towards 
keeping their readers advised of what was being done 
by the committees. The combined aid, therefore, of 
the press proved a powerful auxiliary, and the com- 
mittees esteem it a high privilege to be in a position to 
make public acknowledgment of the invaluable as- 
sistance rendered, for without it the affair could not 
have reached the high degree of success which it did. 



300 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 



Last Meetings of the Directors — Final Report from 
Director General Lucas. 



Saturday afternoon, August 10, 1895, a meeting of 
the Board of Directors convened in the library room 
of the court house, President J. V. Brown in the chair. 
The following members were present: Messrs. Brown, 
Coryell, Davis, Elliot, Hart, Hill, Howard, Parsons, 
Siess, Sloan, Sweeley and Wood. 

The minutes of an informal meeting held July 20th 
were read, and on motion of H. C. Parsons the following 
portions were adopted: 

A communication from W. W. Champion, chairman 
of the antiquarian committee, was read, showing the 
amounts received by him from rent of stands and sale 
of articles used in the antiquarian building to be 
$112, with checks for same amount attached. On mo- 
tion of Mr. Parsons the communication was approved 
and turned over to the treasurer. 

A. J. Quigley reported that he had in his hands con- 
tributions from P. D. Bricker, Jersey Shore, $10, and 
from J. J. Burchard, Second Ward, Williamsport, $2.00; 
total, $12. 

PUBLICATION COMMITTEE. 

Mr. Hill offered and moved the adoption of the fol- 
lowing: 

Resolved, That H. C. Parsons, H. S. Lucas, John F. Meginness, W. 
W. Champion, and A. J. Quigley be appointed a committee to prepare 
and have published an official account of the centennial celebration of 
Lycoming County. 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 301 

Seconded by Mr. Parsons and adopted. 
Mr. Parsons offered and moved the adoption of the 
following resolution : 

Resolved, That the lease marie between the Lycoming County Cen- 
tennial Association and Henry Metzger be, and the same is hereby 
cancelled and delivered up, and that the thanks of the association are 
hereby tendered him for the public spirit he evinced in erecting the 
building that contributed so much to the success of the centennial ex- 
position. 

Seconded by Mr. Hill and adopted. 

REGULAR BUSINESS RESUMED. 

The secretary then read some of the correspondence 
between himself and Pain's Fire-works Company, of 
New York, relating- to the payment of bill for display 
on July 4th. On motion of Mr. Hart, seconded by Mr. 
Siess, the Director General was authorized to settle on 
the basis of $350, if satisfactory to said company; other- 
wise to report at next stated meeting of the associa- 
tion. 

REPORT OF THE MEDAL COMMITTEE. 

J. B. Duble,* chairman of the committee on medals, 
submitted the following statement, showing the num- 
ber of medals that came into the hands of his com- 
mittee to be 600 bronze and 2,500 aluminum. On the 
23d of June they were first offered for sale by commis- 
sion merchants and at the store of Duble & Cornell. 
This course was diligently pursued until July 1st, when 
the medals were put into the hands of agents to be sold 
at various prices under the instructions given by the 
chairman of the committee, whose conduct was gov- 
erned by the circumstances surrounding him. About 
this time much competition was developed in the sale 

*Mr. Duble was selected to serve as chairman of this committee by 
the Director General, as the gentlemen appointed on the committee 
(see p. 65) were unable to attend to the duties tihereof. 
38 



302 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of badges by parties coming from the larger cities with 
spurious medals, and hawking them about the streets, 
at prices much lower than the original cost of the 
genuine; centennial medal. However, after much 
trouble to the committee, and a great deal of hard work, 
the stock was finally disposed of without loss to the asso- 
ciation, as follows: 

Total sales amounted to $586 27 

Amount paid agents $17 60 

Commission allowed merchants 19 48 37 08 

Leaving' • balance of $549 19 

Amount paid for medals 487 50 

Net profit on account of medals $61 69 

Respectfully submitted, 

J. B. DUBLE, 
Chairman. 
OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS. 

After much discussion the treasurer was directed to 
pay W. W. Champion the sum of $192, being the bal- 
ance due him as chairman of the antiquarian com- 
mittee, according to the contract made April 20th, 1895. 

On motion of Mr. Siess, seconded by Mr. Howard, the 
treasurer was authorized to pay Moses Mahaffey and 
John E. Murphy, janitors of the court house and city 
hall, the sum of $10 each, for courtesies extended the 
association. 

On motion of Captain Sweeley, seconded by Dr. 
Wood, the sum of $150 was donated to W. W. Cham- 
pion, of the antiquarian committee, in consideration of 
his valuable services as chairman, and the great suc- 
cess attending that branch of the centennial celebra- 
tion. The treasurer was directed to forward to Mr. 
Champion a check for that amount. 

On motion of Mr. {Siess, seconded by Mr. Hill, the 
services of secretary were dispensed with from and 
after this date. 



CENTENNIAL MEDAL 





OBVERSE. 



REYEKKE. 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 303 

Ou motion of Mr. Sloan, seconded by Mr. Howard, the 
treasurer was authorized to pay the Director General 
fifty dollars for services rendered during the month of 
August. 

On motion of Dr. Wood, the sum of $1,000, or so much 
thereof as may be necessary, be and the same is hereby 
appropriated for the purpose of preparing and publish- 
ing the Centennial History; that the balance in the 
hands of the treasurer be distributed pro rata among 
the subscribers to the centennial fund, according to the 
amounts contributed. 

TREASURER'S REPORT. 

W. H. Sloan, treasurer, submitted the following 
statement of the receipts and disbursements of the as- 
sociation, and asked that an auditing committee of 
three be appointed to audit the same: 

RECEIPTS. 

From contributions $5,090 25 

" antiquarian exhibition 4.616 95 

medal committee 549 19 $10,266 39 

DISBURSEMENTS. 

Paid as per vouchers $5,068 08 

" rent of building 1,500 00 

for medals 4S7 50 

" W. W. Champion, extra 150 00 

" editing- and publishing- history 1,000 00 

" 41 per cent, to contributors 2,050 81 $10,256 39 

Respectfully submitted, 

W. H. SLOAN, 
Treasurer. 

On motion of Mr. Parsons the report was adopted, 
with the thanks of the association. 

The following gentlemen were appointed as the aud- 
iting committee: J. B. Duble, Theodore Hill and J. 
F. Davis. 



304 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

DIRECTOR GENERAL'S PINAL REPORT. 

Director General Lucas submitted his final report, 
showing the amount contributed and by whom; the 
amounts paid out in each department, and the balance 
on hand in each, as well as the total amount remaining 
in the hands of the treasurer after all the bills were 
paid. The contributions from the townships, boroughs 
and city were as follows: 

1. Armstrong-— C. F. Decker $ 5 00 

2. Valentine Dietz 2 00 

3. Philip J. Fousel 2 00 

4. August Meiers , 2 00 

5. William F. Meiers 2 00 

6. John G. Decker 2 00 

7. George Parker 1 00 

8. Robert Page 1 00 

9. W. F. Sander 100 

10. Henry Sortman 1 00 

11. Jacob Shuler 100 

12. Peter Lawson 100 

13. J. L. Lawson 1 00 

14. G. F. Hurr 50 

15. L. F. Roller 50 

16. John W. Bower 50 

17. Michael Bower 50 

18. John H. G. Bastian 50 

19. R. P. Bastian 50 

20. P. J. Bertin 50 

21. Brady— Robert; Shaffer 5 00 

22. Hughesville— DeWltt Bodine 50 00 

23. J. K. Rishel 10 00 

24. Hughesville Furniture Co., per Boak 10 00 

25. Jersey Shore— P. D. Bricker 10 00 

26. Loyalsock— C. R. Harris 25 00 

27. Lycoming — John Hinktemian 50 

28. McHenry— D. E. Hostrander 5 00 

29. L. D. Campbell 5 00 

30. Timothy Splann 2 00 

31. B. J. Campbell 1 00 

32. L. M. Shapire 1 00 

33. G. B. Stradley 100 

34. C. S. Martin 1 00 

35. F. B. Campbell 50 

36. T. Campbell 50 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 305 

37. Gilbert Hositirander $ 25 

38. Muncy Borougrh— J. M. M. Gernerd 5 00 

39. Nippenose — W. H. Shadle 100 

40. Porter — M. P. Hepburn 10 00 

41. Salladasburg — F. C. Bumgardner 100 

42. F. W. Fitler 1 00 

43. C. B. Bastian 100 

44. Harry J. Smith 1 00 

45. W. H. Good 50 

46. M. S. Thomas 50 

47. George Fenstemacher 50 

48. W. B. Flook 50 

49. J. W. Flook 50 

50. Abraham Metzger 50 

51. Harry McCulllough 50 

52. T. McCuillough 50 

53. A. D. Olds 50 

54. J. S. Williamson 25 

55. James Terson 25 

56. South Williamsport— A. Koch & Brother 100 00 

57. Shrewsbury — Jacob T. Corson 1 50 

58. C. W. Myers 50 

59. C. V. Campbell 50 

60. G. T. Myers 50 

WILLIAMSPORT. 

61. First Ward— J. K. Crawford & Son 25 00 

62. John Coleman 5 00 

63. Daniel A. Fessler 3 00 

64. W. Ellis Wise 1 00 

65. F. P. Gstalder 1 00 

66. Second Ward— James V. Brown 200 00 

67. Harry W. Lentz 100 00 

68. William H. Sloan 50 00 

69. George Slate & Sons 25 00 

70. A. D. Hermance 25 00 

71. County Grange 25 00 

72. H. S. Lucas 25 00 

73. A. S. Rhoads 25 00 

74. John R. T. Ryan 25 00 

75. David Stuempfle 20 00 

76. Uiman 'Brothers 20 00 

77. O. H. Reighard 15 00 

78. John B. Coryell 10 00 

79. James N. Kline 10 00 

80. Fisk, Krimm & Co 5 00 



306 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

81. William Neuschafer $ 5 00 

82. Simon Schloss 5 00 

83. F. W. Dawson 5 00 

84. Harry A. Jacobs 5 00 

85. Duncan Store 2 00 

86. Third Ward— West Branch National Bank 200 00 

87. First National Bank 200 00 

88. Cochran, Payne & McCormick 200 00 

89. Williamsport National Bank 100 00 

90. Merchants' National Bank 100 00 

91. Lyeoming National Bank 100 00 

92. Williams-port Waiter Company 100 00 

93. Savings ^Institution 100 00 

94. Edison Electric Illuminating Company 100 00 

95. A. H. Heilman & Co 100 00 

9G. George Bubb & Sons 100 00 

97. Joseph Losch 100 00 

98. L. L. Stearns & Sons 100 00 

99. G. E. Otto SLess 50 00 

100. Bush & Bull Company 50 00 

101. Moses Ulman & Sons 50 00 

102. Susquehanna Trust and Safe Deposit Co 50 00 

103. Seitz Brothers 5'0 00 

104. Shopbell. Gamble & Co 50 00 

105. Thompson, Gibson & Co 50 00 

IOC. John M. Young 50 00 

107. G. D. Nutt, M. D _ 25 00 

108. Lewars & Co .' 25 00 

109. F. B. Thrall & Co 25 00 

110. E. Keeler & Co 25 00 

111. Mrs. Eliza Lyon 25 00 

112. Hart Brothers 25 00 

1 13. L. E. Jones & Co 15 00 

114. J. Taul Suess 15 00 

115. Muir & Scott 15 00 

116. F. H. Keller & Co 15 00 

117. L. L. Walton & Co 15 00 

118. Frank Fulmer 12 50 

119. Harris & Ulman 10 00 

120. Homer J. Edwards 10 00 

121. L. G. Moyer 10 00 

122. W. C. Siess 10 00 

123. Harry K. Smith Co 10 00 

I'M. Charles T. Owen 10 00 

125. Samuel Wilson 10 00 

126. John Wenner & Son 10 00 

127. George W. Harder 10 00 

128. George Zercher !0 00 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 307 

129. William H. Hartmian $ 10 00 

130. James Russell 10 00 

131. Joseph G. Stonesif er 5 00 

132. Timothy Curtin 5 00 

133. Otto, Chatham & Dean 5 00 

134. Gohl & King 5 00 

135. G. & G. B. Wolf 5 00 

136. John H. Watson 5 00 

137. Rubenstein Brothers 5 00 

13S. E. B. Campbell, M. D 5 00 

139. John L. Hall 5 00 

140. Frederick Habbel 5 00 

141. J. W. Villinger & Brother 5 00 

142. H. Jackson 3 00 

143. Charles Kast 2 50 

144. Charles T. McClarin 2 00 

145. John P. Smith 2 00 

146. John Uhl 2 00 

147. Fred Kemmerer 2 00 

148. Theophilus Bey 1 00 

149. Fourth Ward— Williamsport Passenger Railway Co 100 00 

150. S. Q. Mingle 100 00 

151. John L. Guinter 25 00 

152. Duble & Cornell 25 00 

153. John E. Hopkins 25 00 

154. George D. Snyder 5 00 

155. Fifth Ward — Williamsport Wire Rope Co 100 00 

156. C. LaRue Munson 100 00 

157. H. C. Parsons 100 00 

158. W. G. Elliot 50 00 

159. W. W. Hart 25 00 

160. Williamslpoilt Furniture Co 25 00 

161. John J. Reardon 10 00 

162. Lewis Sheffer 10 00 

163. Charles Allen 5 00 

164. F. D. Schweiker 5 00 

165. Charles V. Melhorn 5 00 

166. Sixth Ward— William Howard 100 00 

167. Samuel N. Williams 50 00 

168. Bowman & Foresman 50 00 

169. W. Righter's Sons & Co 25 00 

170. Edgar Munson 25 00 

171. Fletcher Coleman 25 00 

172. Otto Furniture Co 15 00 

173. F. P. Abercrombie 10 00 

174. Hugh McDonald 10 00 

175. W. H. Crockett 10 00 



308 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

176. John G. Reading $ 10 00 

177. Joibn Lawshe 10 00 

178. Younkin, Evans & Stambach 10 00 

179. Lehman Machine Company 10 00 

180. Riley W. Allen 5 00 

181. James B. Coryell 5 00 

182. West End Pharmacy, (D. & C.) 5 00 

183. John C. Reed 3 00 

184. James S. Foresman 2 00 

185. Samuel Weymouth 2 00 

186. R. P. Blackburn 2 00 

187. Seventh Ward— Lindsay Mahaffey 15 00 

188. A. J. Fessler 5 00 

189. W. E. Crawford 3 00 

190. F. E. Wood 100 

191. Eighth Ward— Mrs. Jacob Flock 100 00 

192. Henry Brown 50 00 

193. L. C. Runkle 10 00 

194. Rev. John Koeper 10 00 

195. Godfrey Hess 5 00 

196. L. C. Ayres 5 00 

197. Ertel Brothers 5 00 

198. Lamade & Hedden 5 00 

199. Charles R. Krimm 5 00 

200. Wilson Butz 5 00 

201. H. A. Villinger 5 00 

202. Jacob Keippler 2 00 

203. W. C. Wendt, formerly here; now of Massachusetts 2 00 

204. C. A. Frontz 100 

205. Henry Markstein 1 00 

206. W. A. Gheen 100 

207. W. F. Ade 100 

208. Fred C. Staib 50 

209. E. Williams SO 

210. Jacob Diiehl 50 

211. Ninth Ward— John J. Metzger 30 00 

212. James Thomas 25 00 

213. Frank E. Eck 5 00 

214. Daniel Edler 5 00 

215. Tenth Ward — Lycoming Rubber Company 100 00 

216. John N. Stearns & Co 50 00 

217. Seth T. Foresman 25 00 

218. Eleventh Ward— J. K. Mosser 100 00 

219. Charles I. James 50 00 

220. Samuel G. Updegraff 12 50 

221. Twelfth Ward— J. F. Davis 5 00 

Total contributions $5,090 25 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 309 

EXPENSE ACCOUNT. 

Statement of expense incurred during the prepara- 
tion and celebration of the one hundredth anniversary, 
held July 2d, 3d and 4th, 1895, as per vouchers in the 
hands of Treasurer Sloan: 

Fire-works, expressage, etc $ 359 95 

Balloon ascensions 176 13 

Music, bands, etc 512 00 

Salary of secretary, etc 633 46 

Postals, stamps, etc 75 45 

Stenographer and supplies 105 25 

Books, stationery, etc 35 82 

Printing and advertising 41 39 

Amount paid collector 48 00 

Salutes and ammunition 93 82 

Flags for Sunday schools 15 00 

Marshal, badges and carriages 35 50 

Bills of Samuel W. H. Waltz 37 55 

Janitors and hotel bill 26 25 

Rubber stamps, seal, etc 2 25 

Total $2,197 82 

STATEMENT OF MEDAL ACCOUNT. 
J. B. Duble, chairman of the committee on centennial badges: 

DR. 

For 600 bronze medals $ 150 00 

For 2,500 aluminum medals 337 50 

Total cost of medals $487 50 

OR. 

By bronze medals sold $ 300 00 

By aluminum medals sold 286 27 

Total amount of sales $ 586 27 

Amount paid agents $ 17 60 

Commission, paid 19 48 ,37 08 

Leaving balance $ 549 19 

Net profit on medals $6169 

ANTIQUARIAN HALL ACCOUNT. 

Statement of receipts and expenditures in antiquar- 
ian department, as certified by W. W. Champion, chair- 
man of committee: 

39 



310 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

RECEIPTS. 

Prom admissions $4,454 95 

" rent of stands, etc 48 25 

" sales, lumber, glass, etc 113 75 

Total receipts $4,616 95 

EXPENDITURES. 

Paid rent of hall $1,500 00 

" employes 621 18 

" advertising, etc • 128 55 

" fire insurance 90 00 

" stationery, etc i 46 03 

decorating hall 50 00 

" Lewars & Co 120 01 

" John Coleman, lumber 85 44 

" Edison Illuminating Co 115 63 

" A. H. Heilman & Co 26 10 

" L. L. Stearns & Sons 80 02 

" Paul McBride and carpenters 360 65 

" Bands, July 2d, 3d and 4th 248 00 

Henninger & Jones 25 00 

" Keystone Ribbon Badge Co 18 25 

" Thompson, Gibson & Co 48 29 

'* George W. Harder 6 00 

" Huff & Hawley 2 43 

" Kline & Oo 9 05 

Seitz Brothers 2 11 

" A. M. & J. B. Champion 225 25 

exhibitors' freight, etc 106 59 

Postals, stamps, etc 50 40 

" costumes, flowers, etc 50 15 

for mimeograph 15 00 

" W. W. Champion, salary 466 66 

" W. W. Champion, expenses 23 47 $4,520 26 

Profit on antiquarian exhibition $9G 63 

SUMMARY. 

Showing the amount of funds received from all 
sources and the balance remaining on hand in the dif- 
ferent departments of the centennial association, and 
what disposition was made of same: 

Received from) contributions $ 5,090 25 

Paid fire-works, balloon ascensions, salaries, stationery, bands, 

postage, advertising, etc 2,197 82 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 311 

Balance on hand $ 2,892 43 

Profit on medals 61 69 

Profit on antiquarian exhibition 96 69 

Total profits $ 3,050 81 

41 per cent, of contributions returned to contributors, in pur- 
suance of resolution of the Board of Directors, making' $ 2,050 81 

Leaving balance in treasury of $ 1,000 00 

Which amount has been appropriated to the editing and publishing 
of a centennial history, for distribution among the contributors and 
centennial committees. 

Respectfully submitted, 

H. S. LUCAS, 
Director General. 

There being no further business, on motion of Mr. 
Sweeley, the board adjourned to meet at the call of the 
president. 

LAST MEETING OP THE DIRECTORS. 

Saturday, October 19th, a meeting of the Board of 
Directors of the Lycoming County Centennial Associa- 
tion convened in the library room of the court house at 
2 o'clock P. M., President J. V. Brown in the chair, the 
following members being present: Messrs. Elliot, Hill, 
Howard, Munson, Parsons, Quigley, Siess, Sloan, 
Sweeley, Wilson and Brown, president. 

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and 
approved. 

Mr. Munson objected to that part of the minutes of 
August 10th, which authorized the treasurer to dis- 
tribute the surplus pro rata among the contributors, 
and argued that the distribution should not have been 
authorized until the claims of W. W. Champion and 
John F. Meginness had been satisfied. 

THE LADIES THANKED. 

Colonel Wilson offered and moved the adoption of 
the following resolution: 

Resolved, That a vole of thanks be tendered the ladies of this city 



312 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and county for their prompt, response and splendid work during the 
late centennial celebration, in collecting and arranging the exhibits of 
the antiquarian department; and that the historical department! be 
requested to give full credit to those who by their united efforts and un- 
tiring devotion contributed more than all else in making that branch 
of the centennial celebration a complete success, as well as for their 
constant attendance and uniform! kindness toward all who found their 
way Into Exposition Hall. 

Seconded by Mr. Sloan and adopted. 
There being no further business, the board adjourned 
to meet at the call of the president 

H. S. LUCAS, 
Secretary Pro Tern. 

WHERE T(HE SUBSCRIPTIONS CAME FROM. 

An analysis of the table in Director General Lucas' 
report of the contributors to the centennial fund, 
shows that Williamsport contributed by wards as fol- 
lows: 

First Ward $ 35 00 

Second Ward 602 00 

Third Ward 2,427 00 

Fourth Ward 280 00 

Fifth Ward 435 00 

Sixth Ward 384 00 

Seventh Ward 24 00 

Eighth Ward 214 50 

Ninth Ward 65 00 

Tenth Ward 175 00 

Eleventh Ward 162 50 

Twelfth Ward 5 00 

Total from city $ 4,809 00 

from boroughs 194 00 

" from townships 87 25 

Grand total ? 5,090 25 

The largest subscription by any one individual was 
$200, and the smallest 25 cents. The total number of 
contributors was 221, and in the division of the surplus, 
as per motion of George G. Wood, M. D., of Muncy, (at 
the rate of forty-one per cent.), the highest amount re- 



CLOSING BUSINESS. 313 

turned was $82, and the lowest 41 cents. In calculat- 
ing the percentage of return funds notice was not taken 
of any subscriptions below one dollar. A few sub- 
scriptions — a very few — were not paid. Of course no 
notice was taken of them in the final account. 



314 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 



Historical Sketch of the Bench and Bar — List of 
Members in 189^. 



The Law Committee, appointed by the Board of Man- 
agers of the Lycoming County Centennial Association, 
to prepare a report of the Bench and Bar of the county 
since its erection in 1795, met at the office of Charles 
K. Geddes, Esq., in Williamsport, on Saturday, June 
8th, 1895, at 3 o'clock P. M., and organized by the elec- 
tion of Charles K. Geddes, chairman, and Walter E. 
Bitter, secretary. 

On motion Charles T. Huston, Esq., was added to 
the committee. After some informal talk, the preparr 
tion of the report was left to the chairman, secretar, , 
and Mr. Huston; and the secretary was directed to 
write to members of the bar in the adjoining counties 
which had been formed, in whole or in part, from Ly- 
coming County, and request their co-operation, in order 
to make the report, as nearly as possible, co-extensive 
with the original limits of the county. The meeting 
then adjourned. 

The secretary accordingly wrote, as directed, to sev- 
eral members of the bar in adjoining counties, but the 
answers received were not encouraging, and the corn- 
mil t^e was compelled to confine its efforts almost en- 
tirely to the present limits of the county. Owing, how- 
ever, to the shortness of the time left for preparing the 
report, and to the various other engagements of its 
members, the committee subsequently concluded, with 



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REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 315 

the consent of its author, to adopt, as its report, the 
"Historical Sketch of the Bench and Bar of Lycoming 
County," written by O. LaKue Munson, Esq., for and pub- 
lished in the Centennial Edition of the Gazette and 
Bulletin; and to append thereto a list of the members 
of the Bench and Bar, living, and resident within the 
county, on the first day of July, 1895. The Law Com- 
mittee accordingly reports the following: 

HISTORICAL, SKETCH. 

Older than Lycoming's oldest living citizen, antedat- 
ing Williamsport's municipal existence by more than 
sixty years, and even her incorporation as a borough, 
more ancient than any building within its limits, and 
but nine years younger than the county itself, for more 
than ninety years the familiar statue of Justice has 
looked down from its high pinnacle on the dome of our 
court house, seeing Lycoming County springing from 
an almost uninhabited region — in territory equal to 
the domain of a mighty kingdom, but then the home of 
the savage and of the wild beast — grown into a thickly 
settled and prosperous region, dotted with beautiful 
cities, thriving boroughs and villages, covered with 
smiling fields and cultivated farms, enriched by great 
and varied industrial establishments, thickly settled 
with an enlightened and prosperous people, and on the 
eve of the celebration of her centennial year by thou- 
sands of her citizens and residents of the numerous 
counties of which Lycoming is the honored mother; 
while at the feet of this statue of Justice lies a famous 
and handsome city of more than thirty thousand people 
— the Queen of the West Branch — sprung up, as if by 
magic, from an insignificant and almost unknown little 
village. During all these ninety years the bell under- 
neath that statue has called together the courts of 



316 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Lycoming County, assembled many of her public gath- 
erings, sounded forth joyous peals over national vic- 
tories, rung out wild alarms of dangers from fire and 
flood, and tolled the knell at the death of many of her 
illustrious citizens; while for half a century it has 
struck the hours noting the passing time, verifying for 
all the familiar couplet: 

"Come what come may. 
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day." 

As every judge who has sat on Lycoming's bench, and 
every lawyer who has practiced at its bar, has seen this 
ancient image of Justice — although all of the latter may 
not have admitted that the results obtained at her feet 
were always governed by its rales — while the sweet- 
toned bell has sounded in their ears, and called them 
to the trial of nearly every cause ever heard within the 
county, it seems but proper that a reference to these 
familiar objects should preface a short sketch of Lycom- 
ing's judicial history, and of her bench and bar. 

COURT HOUSES. 

There are but four members of the present bar who 
have practiced their profession in Lycoming County in 
any other than the court house now in use, and it may 
be of some interest to refer to our older temples of jus- 
tice, which, including those leased for that purpose, 
have been seven in number. The act of Assembly, of 
April 13, 1795, creating the county of Lycoming, author- 
ized the Governor to appoint a commission to determine 
the most eligible situation for its public buildings. The 
strife for that location was most fierce, three embryonic 
villages struggling for the prize. Dunnstown, now 
almost unknown, located near the Great Island, and be- 
low the present city of Lock Haven, was a vigorous 
applicant; William Dunn, its founder and sole proprie- 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 317 

tor, having donated a piece of land for the buildings, 
still known as the "court house lot." Jaysburg, that 
portion of Newberry located near the Dodge Mills, a 
very little village, entered the lists with much confi- 
dence, growing out of the temporary establishment of 
the court, within its limits, and claimed to be entitled 
to the permanent location of the county seat. Its citi- 
zens sneered at the rival claims of Michael Ross and 
William Hepburn, who sought to locate the buildings 
in what they called Williamsport, alleging that no such 
place existed, and, if it did, that it was but a swamp 
and subject to inundations. 

No doubt these aspersions had some foundation in 
fact, but by means, shrewd, if not entirely fair, the 
commissioners were induced to accept the site offered 
by Williamsport's citizens, and so it is that we are now 
practicing law in this place, rather than in Dunnstown 
or Jaysburg, places now almost unknown to the present 
generation, certainly, in sound, not as euphonious as 
Williamsport, and suggesting nicknames not compli- 
mentary to their inhabitants. 

THE FIRST COURTS. 

The first courts were held in the public house of 
Thomas Caldwell, at Jaysburg, and there continued for 
about one year. Just what manner of man this land- 
lord of our first court was does not appear, but as the 
bar, "from time when the memory of man runneth not 
to the contrary," have had a saying that one who has 
done a thing badly "has made a Tom Caldwell of it," it 
may be surmised that this ancient localism grew out 
of the early lawyers' association with this first guardian 
of Lycoming's seat of justice, and that their Boniface 
was somewhat of an unsuccessful citizen. 

40 



318 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

In 1790 the court was removed to the public house of 
Eleanor Winter, situated near the present corner of 
West Fourth and Rose Streets, probably where the 
residence of Mr. Samuel N. Williams now stands. One 
year seems to have sufficed for this location, because 
in 1797 we find the court has migrated eastwardly to 
the Russell Inn, a double log house at East Third and 
Mulberry Streets, the first building erected in Wil- 
liamsport, and remaining until 1871, when it was de- 
stroyed by the great fire in August of that year. Our 
elder citizens will remember Miss Affle Dumm, who 
lived for many years in this building, and whose remi- 
niscences of the olden days and of Williamsport's early 
history were very interesting. The courts were held 
here until 1799, when they were removed to the public 
house of Thomas Huston, known as the Rising Sun Inn. 
This inn was afterward owned by one Paragon Pickles, 
whose character was as odd as his name, and later was 
known for many years as Heivly's Tavern. 

It is a curious fact that among the early records of 
our criminal courts are to be found a number of indict- 
ments against the several public houses, where the 
court had been held, for unlawful "tippling." These 
prosecutions were usually instituted immediately after 
the court had removed to another inn; but whether the 
cause for these indictments grew out of the official 
residence of the court does not now appear; it is only 
fair to the bar to assume the negative side of the ques- 
tion, and we can but believe that the court virtuously 
removed its quarters when it was found that the tavern 
of its choice had not abided by the strict rules of the 
law, rather than to imagine that a location was sought 
where better toddy and more desirable "strongge 
waiters" could be obtained. 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 319 

THE ORIGINAL, COURT HOUSE. 

Finally, the temple of justice found an abiding place 
free from all "spirituous, malt and brewed" tempta- 
tions, and in 1800 was permanently located in the 
present court house square, where a small log building 
for its use had been erected at the south-east corner. 
This was occupied until 1804, when the first court house 
proper was erected, and on the site of the present build- 
ing. That edifice was no small undertaking for those 
days, having been erected of brick and stone and at a 
cost of more than $20,000. No Lexow Committee, or in- 
quiring newspaper, existed in those days, and these 
items of expenditure escaped public censure. They are 
found in the commissioners' books and smack of the 
tavern history of the court: 

September 24, 1802. Paid for 9 gallons of whiskey at raising court 

house and offices $ 6 00 

October 30, 1802. Paid Robert McElrath for meat, cooking, etc., 

for the raising at the court house 20 00 

April 11, 1803. Paid for 3 gallons of whiskey for court house and 

offices 2 00 

These figures compare oddly with the cost of the en- 
tertainment of a modern fishing party: "whiskey, $9.90; 
bread, 10 cts.;" when the host demanded of the steward 
to be informed why he had spent so much of the ten 
dollar bill he had given him for bread. 

The image and bell, to which reference has already 
been made, were purchased in Philadelphia and hauled 
in a wagon to Williamsport by Gen. John Burrows. 
The bell bears this quaint inscription: 

George Hedderly made me in 
Philadelphia, Anno Di. 1804. 

In the early fifties a movement was set on foot for 
a new court house, but met with much opposition; it 
being contended that the one built in 1804 was sufficient 
for the county's use. However, the progressive spirit 



320 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

prevailed, and in 1859 a contract was given to ex-Sheriff 
D. S. Rissell for the erection of the present building, 
which was designed by Samuel Sloan, an eminent archi- 
tect of Philadelphia, who also drew the plans for the 
handsome residence of Mayor Elliot, on West Fourth 
Street, formerly the home of the Hon. William H. Arm- 
strong, a distinguished member of the bar of this 
county. The new court house was completed for the 
March sessions of 1861, the courts having been held in 
the interim in Doebler's Hall, below the old post-office. 

HELD MANY OFFICES. 

The first officer of the Lycoming courts, and under 
whom they were organized, was John Kidd. Governor 
Mifflin appointed him prothonotary, clerk of oyer and 
terminer, clerk of the quarter sessions, clerk of the 
orphans' court, register of wills and recorder of deeds — 
a sort of a Pooh-Bah, and holding nearly all the offices 
then to be had. Mr. Kidd was a fine gentleman of the old 
school, and with his powdered hair in queue, with knee 
breeches and silver buckles, ruffled shirt and a cocked 
hat, must have presented an appearance equal to his 
important official positions. If his beautiful penman- 
ship, to be found in the early records of the court house, 
is an index to his character — and we are told that it is — 
our early prothonotary, recorder, etc., must have been 
a gentleman of parts and of no small importance in 
early Williamsport. 

Our first sheriff, Samuel Stewart, Esq., was also a 
distinguished citizen, filling many offices of importance 
in his time. He was a giant in stature, standing six feet 
four inches "in his moccasins," and was a man of war 
as well as one who "compelled the peace/' On Decem- 
ber 16, 1805, he fought a duel — and with pistols too — 
with John Binns, an editor and the author of Binns' 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 321 

Justice. No one seems to have been injured, but this 
duel stands in history as the first and only one fought 
under the code in the West Branch Valley. It is of 
interest to imagine the duties of the sheriff in those 
days, when his bailiwick covered more than 12,000 
square miles, and there were none of the modern means 
of travel, and only hunters' trails and Indian paths to 
follow. Just how Sheriff Stewart managed to serve 
the writs directed to him, when, as in one instance, they 
required him to go as far west as the present Venango 
County, is but matter of conjecture. One of our mod- 
ern wags suggests that he must have given the sum- 
mons to an Indian to serve while on a western scalping 
expedition, to be returned when he came back to the 
annual war dance on the Loyalsock. 

LYCOMING'S JUDGES. 

Lycoming County's bench has been graced by twelve 
president judges, all of them distinguished lawyers, and 
bearing high repute among the judiciary of Pennsylva- 
nia. In the order of their appointment, or election, the 
following judges have presided over the courts of the 
county: 

1. 1795-1806. Hon. Jacob Kush, the first president 
judge, was the president of the Third District, formed, 
in part, of Northumberland County, from which Lycom- 
ing was taken; the act of April 13, 1795, providing that 
it should be within his jurisdiction. He was born in 
Philadelphia, in 1740, was a brother of the famous Dr. 
Benjamin IJush, of that city, and a graduate of 
Princeton College. He continued to preside over our 
courts until Lycoming was attached, in February, 1806, 
to the Eighth District, composed of our county, Nor- 
thumberland and Luzerne. 

2. 1806-1811. Hon. Thomas Cooper was appointed 



322 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

in March, 1800. lie was born in London, in 1759, and 
was a graduate of Oxford University. He was a very 
learned man and a famous chemist, becoming later in 
life a professor of chemistry at Dickinson College, Car- 
lisle. By reason of his public statements favoring the 
French revolution he was banished from England, in 
1798, and joined his friend, Dr. Joseph Priestley, at 
Northumberland. Judge Cooper was impeached and 
removed from office in 1811; the grounds alleged against 
him being based upon his very peculiar notions so pub 
licly expressed, and for his exhibition of a "very violent 
temper." Among the charges preferred against him was 
one alleging "that he appeared, armed with deadly 
weapons, at the court house in Williamsport." This 
he did not deny, but answered that he had armed him- 
self in self-defense against threatened attacks of per- 
sonal violence. 

3. 1811-1833. ITon. Seth Chapman served as presi- 
dent judge of this district for more than twenty-two 
years; a longer term than has been enjoyed by any other 
judge in Lycoming County, or, excepting Judge Mayer, 
of Lock Haven, and Judge Elwell, of Bloomsburg, in 
this section of the state. Judge Chapman was a very 
able lawyer, and during the earlier years of his term 
gave entire satisfaction, but later he became so slothful 
and negligent of his duties that articles of impeachment 
were preferred against him, resulting, however, in his 
acquittal, whereupon he tendered his resignation. 

FIRST RESIDENT JUDGE. 

4. 1833-1843. Hon. Ellis Lewis was the first presi- 
dent judge who resided in Williamsport or in Lycoming 
County. He was one of the most distinguished jurists 
of Pennsylvania, serving ten years in this district, eight 
years as president judge of the Lancaster district and 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 323 

three years as justice of the Supreme Court, becoming 
chief justice in 1854, and declining a renomination at 
the expiration of his term, in 1857. His record on the 
bench, both at nisi prius and in banc, is a very enviable 
one; while his opinions show high culture and great 
legal ability. He was the author of valuable legal 
works, a writer of note on public questions and a well- 
bred and courteous gentleman. He built the residence 
now occupied by Mrs. Henry White, at East Third and 
Basin Streets, where he made his home for many years, 
and was one of the wardens of Christ Church, where a 
beautiful stained glass window was placed a few years 
ago as a memorial to his name. 

5. 1843-1844. Hon. Charles G. Donnell was born 
in Williamsport and his father and grandfather were 
prominent in the early affairs of the county. He prac- 
ticed his profession at Sunbury, having been admitted 
to the bar in 1822. Governor Porter appointed him 
president judge of the Eighth Judicial District, in Janu- 
ary, 1843, but he served but little more than a year, 
dying suddenly, from an accident, in 1844. 

6. 1844-1851. Hon. Joseph Biles Anthony was ap- 
pointed to succeed Judge Donnell, and served until his 
death, in January, 1851. It can be truthfully said that 
Judge Anthony was the most popular citizen our county 
ever had, shown by the unprecedented majorities he 
received at his numerous elections. He was born in 
Philadelphia, graduated with high honors from Prince- 
ton College and then came to Williamsport, where he 
was admitted to the bar in 1818. Within a very short 
time he secured a leading position in his profession, 
becoming a very successful and distinguished lawyer. 
He was also famed for his wit and anecdotes, and, pos- 
sessing high social qualities and a pleasing manner, 



324 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

easily made and kept many friends. Tn 1830 he was 
elected to the State Senate and served until 1833, when 
he was chosen to Congress, and again in 1835. At this 
election he had the unequalled good fortune to carry 
every election precinct in every county composing his 
congressional district. After his second term in Congress 
expired he was appointed by Governor Porter judge of 
the Nicholson court, organized to settle the title of vast 
tiracts of valuable land, and, in 1844, was made presi- 
dent judge of the Eighth Judicial District. So promi- 
nent had he become and so well and favorably known 
throughout the state, that at the time of his death he 
was looked upon as the almost certain nominee of the 
Democratic party for Governor of Pennsylvania. 

THE LAST APPOINTMENT. 

7. 1851. Hon. James Pollock was appointed to fill 
the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Anthony, and 
filled out that term. He was elected Governor in 1854 
and afterwards occupied many national offices of trust 
and honor. By the amendment of 1850 to the state 
constitution the judiciary, which had theretofore been 
appointive, now became elective. 

8. 1851-1868. Hon. Alexander Jordan was the first 
judge of the district to be elected under the amended 
constitution. He was born in Jaysburg, Jbut removed 
to Sunbury, where he was admitted to the bar. He 
was an able lawyer and a popular citizen, receiving a 
very large majority at his election, as also at his re- 
election, in 1861. He was an indefatigable worker and 
gave entire satisfaction, although at times he ruled 
matters with somewhat of an iron hand. He presided 
here until 1868, but twenty-seven years ago; yet we 
have but six lawyers of the present bar, still in active 
practice, who appeared before Judge Jordan, and they 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 325 

are Hon. Henry C. Parsons, O. K. Geddes, Esq., B. S. 
Bentley, Esq., Hon. O. H. Reighard, Hon. H. C. Mc- 
Cormick and J. C. Hill, Esq. 

9. 1868-1869. Hon. Benjamin S. Bentley was ap- 
pointed president judge by Governor Geary on Feb- 
ruary 2S, 1868, by virtue of an act of Assembly of that 
date making Lycoming County a separate judicial dis- 
trict, to be known as the Twenty-ninth, and providing 
for an appointment until the next election. Judge 
Bentley will be remembered by many members of our 
bar, at which he practiced for a number of years, for his 
kindness of manner, particularly to his younger breth- 
ren. He died, much regretted, March 6, 1882. 

AN OBNOXIOUS LAW. 

10. 1869-1879. Hon. James Gamble was elected in 
the autumn of 1868 and took his seat in January follow- 
ing. By an act of March 16, 1869, passed through the 
efforts of Mr. Peter Herdic, the act of 1868, creating 
the Twenty-ninth Judicial District, was repealed, and 
Lycoming was annexed to the Fourth District, com- 
posed of the counties of Tioga, McKean, Potter, Elk 
and Clearfield, and, unexpectedly, Judge Gamble found 
himself legislated out of office. Probably no political 
movement ever created as much opposition and excite- 
ment in Lycoming County as did this obnoxious enact- 
ment. An attempt was made to hold court here by 
one of the judges of the Fourth District, but proved a 
failure, the bar refusing to accept the situation or to 
appear in court. The result was that litigation ensued 
by a quo warranto, and the Supreme Court (Common- 
wealth vs. Gamble, 62 Pa., 313,) held the act of 1869 to 
be unconstitutional, and that the act was void because 
it infringed on the tenure of the judicial office. 

Judge Gamble served his full term and retired with 

41 



326 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

the high respect and esteem of all his fellow citizens. 
He was a native of this county, having been born near 
Jersey Shore, in 1809; was educated in the public 
schools and was called to the bar in 1833. He was a 
member of the State Legislature in 1841 and 1842, and 
of Congress for two terms, from 1850 to 1854. As presi- 
dent judge he was called upon to try some of the most 
important causes ever heard in our county, including 
eight homicide cases. He was a very able lawyer and 
an upright and honest judge. He was a man of great 
dignity of character and manner, and presided over the 
courts with entire impartiality. He was particularly 
considerate and kind to the younger members of the bar, 
and was affable and courteous to all. At the expiration 
of his term of office, in the presence of a large assem- 
blage of citizens, most eulogistic addresses were made 
by members of the bar and of the judiciary referring to 
his honored career, and highly complimentary resolu- 
tions, presented by a committee headed by the Hon. 
William H. Armstrong, were unanimously adopted, and 
ordered spread upon the records of the court. 

JUDGE H. H. CUMMIN. 

11. 1879-1889. Hon. Hugh Hart Cummin was 
elected president judge of Lycoming County on Novem- 
ber 5, 1878, having been nominated by the people, and 
running as an independent candidate. He was born 
at Liverpool, Perry County, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1841, 
! and, owing to the death of his father when he was but 
a lad, was largely thrown upon his own resources. He 
was chiefly self-taught, but acquired a good edu- 
cation and became in time a well read and 
learned man. He was a person of remarkable 
industry, pluck and courage, and surmounting 
his early difficulties and embarrassments, made 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 327 

himself a famed lawyer and an able jurist. He 
came to Williamsport in 1862, and entered the law 
office of George White, Esq., becoming his partner after 
his admission to the bar in 1864. His practice was very 
large, particularly in the office work of the lawyer. As 
a judge he was noted for the prompt manner in which 
he discharged his judicial duties and for the thorough 
system with which he regulated the business of the 
courts. When he came to the bench the trial list was 
more than six hundred cases in arrears, and causes were 
rarely heard in less than three years after their com- 
mencement; but, in a short time, he brought up the list 
to a point where the cases could be tried at the same or 
the next term to which they were brought. During his 
term of ten years he disposed of nearly six thousand 
causes which had been regularly set down for trial, 
many of them of great importance. Pie won the confi- 
dence and esteem of the bar and was noted throughout 
the state for his judicial abilities. Shortly after his 
term expired he was appointed by Governor Beaver to 
the care of the many persons distressed by the great 
floods of June 1, 1889, and, while engaged in the duties 
of his position at Johnstown, was stricken with the 
disease which ended his life on August 11, 1889. His 
funeral was a public one and was attended, not only by 
hundreds of his fellow citizens, but by many distin- 
guished men from all parts of the state. 

THE PRESENT JUDGE. 

12. 1889-1895. Hon. John J. Metzger was elected 
president judge of this district in November, 1888, for 
the term of ten years, and fills the office with much 
ability and to the satisfaction of the bar and the people. 
He was born in Clinton Township, in this county, on 
June 20, 1838, and was educated in the public schools 



328 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

and at Dickinson Seminary. It is not generally known 
that Judge Metzger was, in his younger days, partly 
prepared for the ministry of the Lutheran Church, but, 
leaving that profession, became a student of law in the 
office of the late A. J. Dietrich, Esq., and was admitted 
to the bar of this county in April, 1SG0. In October, 
1862, he was elected district attorney and held that 
office for three years. In 1872 he was elected a member 
of the Constitutional Convention and assisted in fram- 
ing the present constitution of Pennsylvania. In 1878 
he was the Democratic nominee for president judge 
of this district, but was defeated by Judge Cummin by 
a majority of about three hundred votes. Judge Metz- 
ger ranked high as a member of the bar, being a very 
able advocate and one of the best jury lawyers our 
county ever had, as many of his brethren at the bar 
have mournful cause to remember. He was very gen- 
erally successful in his cases and a very difficult lawyer 
to beat in the trial of a cause. He possesses the quality 
of tenacity, so very valuable to a lawyer, and one which 
stood him in good stead. No difficulty seemed too great 
for him to overcome and he never was thrown off his 
course by a temporary loss at trial. It was a well- 
founded saying at the bar that the more doubtful his 
case the harder he fought and the more difficult it was 
to win it from him. Since his elevation to the bench 
he has maintained the same standard of promptness 
which had been set by Judge Cummin, and the members 
of the bar have no cause of complaint that their cases 
are not well and speedily tried. Judge Metzger's legal 
ability is evidenced by the fact that he has been but 
rarely reversed in the Supreme Court, more seldom 
probably than any judge who has presided over our 
courts. 



REPORT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 329 

THE BAR. 

From the erection of the county Lycoming's bar has 
taken a high rank in the profession. It has always 
numbered among its members men of great ability, 
and, being presided over by able judges and engaged 
in the trial of very important causes, has earned and 
maintained its prestige. The political life of our bar 
has been very prominent, as is shown by the roster of 
the important offices it has filled, viz.: Governor, James 
Pollock; Justices of the Supreme Court, Charles Huston, 
Ellis Lewis and James Armstrong; Attorneys General, 
Ellis Lewis and Henry C. McCormick; members of Con- 
gress, William Cox Ellis, Joseph B. Anthony, James 
Gamble, William H. Armstrong, R. J. C. Walker and 
Henry C. McCormick; Judges, Charles Huston, A. V. 
Parsons, Ellis Lewis, J. B. Anthony, John W. Maynard, 
Samuel Linn, James Gamble, Benjamin S. Bentley, H. 
H. Cummin, John J. Metzger, S. C. Wingard and John 
H. Mitchell; State Senators, Robert McClure, A. V. 
Parsons, J. B. Anthony, James W.Quiggle, Robert Flem- 
ing, Henry Johnson, Robert P. Allen, W. W. Hart and 
Verus H. Metzger. 

The first lawyers to locate in Lycoming County were 
John Kidd, of whom mention has already been made, 
Charles Huston, who became a justice of the Supreme 
Court from 1826 to 1849, and Robert McClure, a famous 
lawyer of the early days, and an ancestor of some of 
Williamsport's prominent citizens. The name of James 
Gilchrist appears among the early records as having 
been concerned in nearly all the cases brought to trial 
until 1800. Charles Hall was another lawyer of promi- 
nence in those days. He owned the beautiful "Hall 
Farms," being nearly all the land between Muncy and 
Montoursville, and was the grandfather of Hon. Henry 



330 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Rawle and William Coleman Hall, Esq., who reside 
upon the ancestral estates. 

SOME OF THE EARLY MEMBERS. 

William Cox Ellis was an eminent lawyer of the early 
part of the century. He. was a brilliant orator and a 
highly cultivated lawyer. He served four years in Con- 
gress and was the uncle of Mrs. William G. Elliot. 

Francis C. Campbell was called to the bar of Lycoming 
County in 1812, and achieved much professional promi- 
nence. He was a gentleman of the old school and a 
man of much influence. He was remarkable for his 
dislike of travel and never visited New York or Phila- 
delphia, his longest railroad journey having been taken 
in 1857 from Williamsport to Wilkes-Barre. His home 
was on Pine Street, where the Brown block now stands, 
and a window in Christ Church, of which he was a 
warden for many years, preserves his memory. 

Anson V. Parsons, the father of the Nestor of the pres- 
ent bar, Hon. H. C. Parsons, practiced law for many 
years, having an office in Jersey Shore, and was then 
appointed president judge of Philadelphia County. His 
valuable "Parsons' Select Equity Cases" is a lasting 
monument to his ability. 

James Armstrong was the leader of the bar in his 
day. He could easily fill the court house when it was 
known that he was engaged on a cause of any import- 
ance, and his witty arguments and telling jokes com- 
manded the applause of his audience. He was appointed 
to the supreme bench in 1857 and died in 1867. 

John W. Maynard was usually Judge Armstrong's 
antagonist, as they were in nearly all the cases tried in 
the county while they were active at the bar. As a 
master of the law, in a knowledge of its principles and 
intricacies, Judge Maynard never had a superior at 



REPOKT OF LAW COMMITTEE. 331 

this bar. He was of most delightful manners and famed 
for his courtesy. He was one of the judges of Allegheny 
County and president judge of Northampton and Lehigh 
Counties. 

ARMSTRONG & LINN. 

It will be admitted that no firm of lawyers in Wil- 
liamsport ever obtained a prominence, or acquired a 
practice, equal to that of Armstrong & Linn. Wm. H. 
Armstrong, the son of Judge Jas. Armstrong, inherited 
his legal talent and caused it to increase tenfold. He 
is, undoubtedly, the finest orator this county has had for 
half a century, and being, with his other accomplish- 
ments, an indefatigable worker, won a fine practice. 
He represented this district in Congress in 1868-1870, 
and was appointed commissioner of railways by Presi- 
dent Arthur, in 1881. He is now retired from active 
practice and resides in Philadelphia. The name of Mr. 
Armstrong's partner, Samuel Linn, is one that is en- 
graven in the hearts of the members of the bar and of 
his fellow citizens, and will remain green and fresh for 
many years to come. He was a lawyer in Bellefonte in 
earlier life, and later the president judge of the Six- 
teenth Judicial District. In 1867 he joined his practice 
with that of Mr. Armstrong, and together they led the 
bar of this section of the state. Their business grew 
to greater proportions than has been the fortune of any 
other lawyers in Williamsport, until, at one time, it has 
been authoritatively stated, their fee bill reached $30,000 
in a single year. As a learned lawyer Judge Linn had 
no superior, if he had an equal, in Pennsylvania. His 
knowledge of legal principles was very deep and his 
power of clear and forcible statement most remarkable. 
With a jury he was well nigh invincible and as a counsel 
he had no peer. He was the personification of wit 
and as a raconteur he was unexcelled. His gentleness 



332 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of manner and simplicity of character endeared him to 
all, while his kindness and consideration for his breth- 
ren at the bar, particularly to the fledgeling, won their 
deep affection. Judge Linn died in 1890, and was hon- 
ored in his funeral by the presence of many lawyers of 
this and other counties. 

It is a pleasure to the writer to refer to another promi- 
nent law firm, and with which he began the study of 
law nearly twenty-four years ago. Robert P. Allen and 
James M. Gamble are numbered among those "who 
have gone beyond the veil," but their memories remain 
and their many friends hold them in affectionate re- 
membrance. Allen & Gamble had a very extensive 
practice and were prominent members of this com- 
munity. They were warm-hearted, generous and hon- 
orable men, able lawyers and Christian gentlemen, and 
left behind them a record worthy of the emulation of 
all the profession. Mr. Gamble died in 1888, and Mr. 
Allen in 1890. 

THE PRESENT BAR. 

Of the present bar it can be said — and it is "honorable 
mention" — that they uphold the reputation this county 
has so long enjoyed. They have perpetuated the spirit 
of friendliness for one another, the esprit du corps, 
which seems always to have been a characteristic of the 
lawyers of Lycoming County; and there is now, and 
always has been, found among them that practice of 
honor and veracity which has upheld the profession and 
maintained its high rank in the public mind. 

We are a young bar, our oldest lawyer, Hon. Henry 
C. Parsons, and he has been practicing nearly forty 
years, being far from elderly, either in manner or ap- 
pearance, while white hairs are much more rare than 
among the members of our neighboring bars— although 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 335 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 



Discourses by Rev. James Carter, of Williamsport, 
and Rev. R. F. McClure, of Muncy. 

Notwithstanding the request of the committee on or- 
ganization (see p. 67), that the pastors of the various 
religious denominations throughout the county preach 
sermons pertinent to the occasion, and return copies to 
the executive committee, only two have reached the 
Editor. It is believed, however, that the request was 
generally complied with, and that many interesting and 
valuable historical discourses were delivered, but 
through some misunderstanding, or neglect, copies were 
not returned.* 

The two discourses referred to above are given here- 
with. The first by Eev. James Carter, pastor of the 
Second Presbyterian Church, Williamsport, was de- 
livered June 30th, and is as follows: 

Deuteronomy xxxii: 7. — Remember the days of old, consider the 
years of many generations. 

The people of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, 
passed through the sea and the desert, achieved the con- 
quest of Bashan, and paused at the Jordan to listen to 
the words of their leader as he recounted the history of 
those eventful forty years of wandering. That retrospect 
he found replete with instruction, warning and encour- 
agement. So always may it be with recollection rightly 
used. The soul is refreshed with the memory of Jehovah's 
faithfulness, and turns to prosecute with new vigor the 

*The committee on sermons was composed as follows: Revs. L. 
Maxwell, James Carter, W. H. Graff, Gustave Levy, J. A. Koser, S. G. 
Reading, J. M. Anspach, E. A. Garvey, B.C. Connor, J. A. Wirt. 



336 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

duty of to-day. We may take upon our lips this sen- 
tence of the prophet: "Remember the days of old, con- 
sider the years of many generations;" and as we re- 
hearse after the same manner the history of one hundred 
years, we should not find that review unfruitful. Those 
forty years of wandering and waiting were the offcome 
of generations of faith and of faithfulness, generations 
worthy of remembrance. As we recall this century of 
ours in Lycoming County, it would be an unintelligent 
retrospect which should exclude the days of old, the 
years of many generations, productive of civilization 
and of character. 

Yet it is hardly necessary that we imitate the old his- 
torians in opening our sketch with an account of the 
creation of the world and the story of the human family 
in Eden. Suffice it to say, that, whether ferried by the 
Mayflower, or brought in broad-breasted galleons, our 
ancestors are one in sturdy Teutonic blood and in sinewy 
Teutonic endurance. Whether arriving in this land 
early or late, they were one in aspiration and endeavor. 

The region in which we live, is a region with a history 
full of breez}' stir of pioneer adventure much more com- 
fortable in the reading than in the living of it; and our 
valley is distinguished as affording an asylum for the 
discoverer of oxygen, the Rev. Joseph Priestley, mobbed 
and burned out in London for his sympathy with the 
French Revolution. This town, then a straggling set- 
tlement, had its day of horror in the massacre of June 
10, 1778, one month before the more famous engage- 
ment and slaughter at Wyoming. Col. William Hep- 
burn, on hearing the cruel tidings, hastened from Fort 
Muncy and found the bodies of the victims lying where 
the Indians had left them; and, with his men, assisted 
in burying them in the graveyard at the corner of Fourth 
and Cemetery Streets. The exodus which followed this 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 337 

massacre was long known as the Great Runaway, and 
the tales of it abound in interest. The forest roads were 
thronged with wagons, foot-passengers, beasts of bur- 
den, sheep and cattle, all hastening away in terror from 
the reach of those merciless tomahawks. 

Not long after these scenes was organized the Ly- 
coming Church at Newberry. The Rev. Isaac Grier in 
the spring of 1792 was sent as a missionary to this 
region, preaching as far north as Albany and Ticon- 
deroga in the state of New York. June 24, 1792, he 
preached at Newberry. In April, 1794, he was installed 
as the first pastor of that church; and thus we may 
note that Presbyterianism in this region is older than 
the county. 

The region hereabout was at that time included in 
Northumberland County. Lycoming Creek was for a 
long time the western boundary of the English posses- 
sions, the tract to the westward being claimed by the 
Indians. The close of the American Revolution in 1783 
brought tranquility and a host of settlers; and what had 
been a wilderness began to assume the features of civili- 
zation. As the number of townships increased in this 
part of the valley, the inhabitants soon desired the dis- 
tinction of a separate existence as a county; and in 1786 
the first movement was made in the Legislature for the 
erection of a new county out of territory cut off from 
the county of Northumberland. The effort was abor- 
tive at that time; but the energy of the advocates of 
division were unwearied until they obtained their de- 
sire, and Lycoming became a separate county by the 
affixing to the act of the Legislature the Governor's 
signature, April 13, 1795. 

The name, like so many names, was a mere accident. 
The name first placed in the bill was that of Jefferson. 
Susquehanna was suggested as a substitute, as was also 



338 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Muncy; but both were rejected, and Lycoming was 
adopted, popular by the prominence which a dispute 
with the Indians concerning the boundary, had given 
to that title. According to linguistic authority the 
word is a corruption of the original name of the stream, 
which in the language of the Delawares was, Legani- 
hanne, that is, Sandy Stream. In an early map it had 
been written Lycaumic, the transition from which to its 
present form came in accordance with the ordinary law 
of the softening of vocables. 

Eev. Mr. Grier remained pastor of the Lycoming 
Church, preaching in an old log building until 180G, 
when he removed to Northumberland. In 1817 the log 
church was burned, and a stone church was erected by 
the people, a building of the most awkward proportions, 
being sixty feet by sixty-six feet. From the year 1814 
the church attempted the sole support of a pastor, sep- 
arating from their connection with the churches at Jer- 
sey Shore and Lock Haven, then known as Pine Creek 
and Great Island; but the experiment was not eminently 
successful. We find that in 1828 the moderator of Pres- 
bytery, the celebrated Dr. George Junkin, was directed 
by resolution of that body to preach in the Lycoming 
Church "and address the people on the subject of min- 
isterial support." In view of the decided character of 
the moderator, the historian of the Presbytery has writ- 
ten: "No doubt the people of the Lycoming congrega- 
tion had the subject very fully and plainly put to them.'' 
Two years later their pastor resigned, and they ar- 
ranged with the Ilev. J. II. Grier, pastor of the Great 
Island and Pine Creek Churches, to preach for them 
once a month. 

Such was the state of affairs when J. B. Hall removed 
from Geneva to Williamsport in July, 1832, the people 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 339 

of Williainsport going to Newberry once in four weeks 
to the only Presbyterian service in the vicinity. By 
this time Williamsport was a town of 700 inhabitants, 
and was in condition to care for itself. Accordingly in 
October, 1832, the Presbytery appointed Rev. D. M. Bar- 
ber to meet the people of the Presbytery affinities in 
this town, and, if feasible, to organize a church. This 
was done in February 23, 1833, thirty-eight members, 
most of whom were from the Lycoming Church, consti- 
tuting the new organization. At the first parish meeting- 
Messrs. Alexander Sloan, Andrew D. Hepburn, John 
Torbet and John B. Hall were chosen to the eldership 
and ordained in the old stone church on Third street, 
where now the Reformed Church stands, an edifice 
owned by the German Lutherans, but finished inter- 
iorly by the Presbyterians on condition that they have 
the use of the audience-room when not wanted by the 
German Church. This was the First Presbyterian 
Church, our sister, with whom we share the earlier 
history, and more recently most pleasant memories of 
reciprocal courtesy and Christian kindliness. The new 
church was supplied statedly by several clergymen until 
1837, when Rev. J. P. Hudson was installed as their 
pastor, remaining with them until the fall of 1840; and 
so we reach the date of primal significance to this con- 
gregation. 

During the summer of 1840 a number of Presbyter- 
ians who were connected with the First Church, whose 
organization has just been described, secured the use 
of the old court house, and engaged various supplies. 
After correspondence with Philadelphia they were 
visited by the Rev. William Sterling and the Rev. 
Robert Adair, who held daily services, which were well 
attended and proved to some the means of conversion. 
After a visit of ten days they returned to report to the 



340 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Synod of Pennsylvania. In the presence of that body, 
and subsequently before the Presbytery of Harrisburg, 
Mr. J. B. Hall made a statement of the situation, and 
the Eev. J. W. Phillips was sent with authority to use 
his judgment in the matter. On his arrival he began to 
preach every evening in the court house with after- 
meetings at a private house nearby. The response of 
the people in their attendance and interest appeared 
to Mr. Phillips to warrant the formation of a church. 

On Saturday, the 12th of December, 1840, a meeting 
was held in the old stone church which had witnessed 
the organization of the First Presbyterian Church. The 
following named persons presented themselves to be or- 
ganized into a church: John B. Hall, Nathaniel D. 
Eaton, Reuben Derby, Benjamin C. Moore, Stephen W. 
Hall, J. P. Jenks, Abigail Derby, Mrs. Agnes Hall, Mrs. 
Nancy J. Hall, Elizabeth T. Moore, Phoebe Hall, Rachel 
Hall, Mary Hall, Hetty Hall and Elizabeth Cummings. 
Of these only the last named was a member of the First 
Church, and the others were not aware of her wish until 
she rose with them to signify her desire. The persons 
thus associated chose as elders: Messrs. J. B. Hall, 
N. D. Eaton and B. C. Moore. The last two were then 
ordained and the three installed as elders of the Second 
Presbyterian Church of Williamsport, and the organi- 
zation of the church was declared complete. By reso- 
lution the church placed itself under the care of the 
Presbytery of Harrisburg, and commissioners were ap- 
pointed to present the matter to that body. On the 
same day the newly constituted session met and the 
following named persons were received on confession 
of their faith: Mrs. Elizabeth Parsons, Miss Jane Derby, 
Mr. Henry Sease, Mr. Isaac Parsons, Mr. Thomas Bark- 
ley and Mr. Samuel Crawford. So this church had on 
the first day of its existence twenty-four members. At 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 341 

this meeting the Session adopted a statement of doc- 
trine and a covenant for the subscription of members. 

Although the church thus formed was connected with 
the New School wing* of the Presbyterian Church, it was 
not because of any apparent divergence in doctrine from 
the Old School wing; for the statement which they 
adopted stands stoutly in all its brevity for the Calvin- 
istic system as exhibited in our standards. May the 
children who are rising about us be as strong-kneed as 
their fathers, strong to bend to the sovereignty of 
Heaven, strong to stand stiffly for Heaven's truth. 

And this is the covenant then adopted: "You do 
now in the presence of the dread Majesty of Heaven 
and earth, the Searcher of all hearts and before his peo- 
ple, solemnly profess to give up yourselves to God, the 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost. You choose him for your 
God, your Father, your Saviour and your Sanctifier. 

"You renounce all ways of sin as what you truly abhor 
and choose the service of God as your greatest privilege. 

"You promise in humble dependence on divine grace 
to live soberly, righteously and piously, denying all un- 
godliness and every wordly lust. You promise and 
covenant that so long as God in his holy Providence 
shall permit you to remain among us you will treat the 
members of this church with Christian watchfulness 
and brotherly affection; that you will attend upon its 
ordinances and institutions; submit to its discipline, ;-eek 
its prosperity and endeavor in all your conduct to adorn 
the doctrines of God our Saviour." 

Thus did the fathers of our church set up a fence 
about it and a tower upon the wall. The beginning was 
not unworthy of the outcome: worthy outcome is not 
to be predicted from an unworthy beginning. 

The history thus begun is marked very naturally for 
us by the dates connected with the two buildings which 

43 



342 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

have housed this congregation during the period of its 
existence. From 1840 to 18G7 may be regarded as years 
of gradual increase with some fluctuations. In the 
spring of I860 the church reported one hundred and 
twenty-five additions to its membership. Thus the num- 
ber upon roll suddenly mounted from about two hun- 
dred to something more than three hundred. Then 
follow some twenty years of fluctuation. Pruning of 
the roll and other causes reduced the number of mem- 
bers reported; and then the number slowly mounted 
until in 1884 we numbered three hundred and ten. There- 
upon follow five years of increase, raising the number 
to four hundred and eight, a net increase of nearly one 
hundred members. Subsequently revision of the roll 
reduced the number of members reported, and at the 
coming of the present pastor the names on the church 
register numbered 382. Since that time, although 
death, removals and pruning of the roll have removed 
more than one hundred names, the list has been slowly 
enlarging and at present contains the names of four 
hundred and fifty-six persons. 

On February 15, 1841, the congregation called the 
Eev. James W. Phillips, who had served the church in 
its organization and at a communion held in January, 
1841. The amount of salary promised was seven hun- 
dred dollars, in raising which the people hoped to have 
the help of the American Home Missionary Society. In 
September, 1841, the church made its first report to 
Presbytery, after an existence of nine months and a 
half. During that time five had been received by letter 
and fifty-nine on confession of faith, making the whole 
number seventy-nine. In the following spring, six 
months later, the membership numbered 117, thirty-four 
having been received on confession of faith. In 1841 
the congregation set about the task of providing itself 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 343 

with a church building. Although it was an extensive 
undertaking for so small a congregation, yet the people 
had a will to work, and on the 15th of October, 1843, the 
new brick church was dedicated, the Rev. William 
Sterling preaching the sermon of dedication. In De- 
cember of the same year the church was incorporated; 
but for some reason the provisions of the charter were 
not carried out in the election of trustees until January 
1, 1850, when the first board was elected. 

On May 16, 1846, the resignation of Mr. Phillips was 
accepted, by the Presbytery and the pastoral relation 
dissolved. On September 15th, of the same year, hav- 
ing had occasional preaching in the interim, the con- 
gregation extended a call to the Rev. William Sterling, 
offering him a salary of six hundred and fifty dollars. 
Mr. Sterling stipulated that the debt of the church 
should first be paid, which was met for the most part 
by the liberality of those who held the notes, and can- 
celed them. The new pastor entered upon his work 
on the 27th of September, 1846, though he was not in- 
stalled, until the following spring. Thus opened the 
longest and one of the most useful pastorates in the 
history of the church. 

Six years of the new pastorate brought the church to 
self-support, although the membership numbered as yet 
but one hundred and thirty-two; and we find at the 
annual meeting of the congregation, held January 6, 
1851, that resolutions of thanksgiving were expressed 
in taking leave of the Home Missionary Society, and the 
hope was recorded that the church might be able to 
return the amount which had been received in aid. It 
is gratifying to be permitted to record that this hope 
was fully realized. 

On the 1st of June, 1864, the congregation began to 
worship in the court house, with the purpose of enlarg- 



344 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

ing the church building. Disappointed in obtaining the 
brick according to contract, the church deferred the 
work until the following spring. In the interval came 
the flood of 1865, and in the spring it was decided to re- 
build wholly and to use stone instead of brick. On 
January 22, 1867, the work was completed and the 
church dedicated. It was considered at the time to be 
one of the finest church edifices in the state, and had 
the largest organ in the city. The cost of building 
was estimated at $62,172, of which $35,000 remained 
unpaid. By the liberal spirit of the people f 35,510 were 
subscribed on the day of dedication to make good the 
deficit. On renting the pews such was the prosperity 
of the church that but fourteen out of ninety-four were 
left unrented. 

On May 31, 1869, nine members were dismissed from 
this church to form a Third Church in this city, on which 
occasion the following resolution was adopted by the 
Session: "These persons leave us with our full approba- 
tion and consent, and with the kindest feeling; and they 
bear with them our most fraternal affection and esteem. 
We here record our joy, and our gratitude to God at the 
prospect of this new organization, which as a Session 
we have done what we could to encourage and assist. 
May God be with them and grant them His abundant 
blessing, and crown the enterprise with fullest success." 
Thus briefly is recorded the story of loving labor and 
much liberality and many prayers; and the outcome 
to-day shows the approval of the Master and His bless- 
ing upon the work. 

On April 2, 1871, the congregation, in concurring at 
the pastor's request in his resignation of the pastoral 
charge to the Presbytery, adopted a resolution recog- 
nizing his ability and faithfulness, and testifying their 
affection toward him in the payment to him of five nun- 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 345 

dred dollars annually for three years. On the 23d of 
April the pulpit was declared vacant, but the venerable 
pastor emeritus dwelt among his people until his death, 
March 13, 1885. The testimonials of affection and re- 
spect tendered on the occasion of his funeral in this 
house three days later are too recent to need rehearsal. 

On August 7, 1871, a call was extended to the Rev. 
H. W. Brown, with a salary of $2,500. Mr. Brown ac- 
cepted the call, but was not installed as pastor because 
to his mind the infirmity of deafness rendered it advis- 
able that the pastoral relation should not be consum- 
mated. During the interval the two branches of the 
Presbyterian Church had united and met in one General 
Assembly in Philadelphia, May 19, 1870. This church 
was honored by the Presbytery in the appointment as 
commissioner of our oldest elder, who represented the 
church also in the reconstructed Synod of that year. 
On March 28th, at the suggestion of the Session, the 
rotary system in electing elders was adopted by the con- 
gregation. After nearly thirteen years of most accept- 
able and loving ministration, Mr. Brown, pressing his 
resignation upon the people, it was reluctantly ac- 
cepted, March 30, 1884. 

On Sunday evening, May 18th, in the same year, the 
Rev. David Winters was installed as pastor of this 
church. During the five years of service which fol- 
lowed the roll of the church shows a large accession to 
the membership. On April 2, 1889, the pastoral rela- 
tion was dissolved, and Mr. Winters dismissed by the 
Presbytery to accept a call from the First Church of 
Wichita, Kansas. On the 17th of December, of the same 
year, after an interval of eight months, the present 
pastor of this church was installed, and the outcome of 
his labors must be recorded by some other hand. We 
who this morning worship in an auditorium which 



346 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

twice within the last three years has undergone remod- 
eling and renovation, have no need to be reminded of 
what the people of this church have done during these 
years. 

Looking back over the stretch of history to the in- 
conspicuous beginning, this church may well give 
thanks for the firm and open hearted support of those 
who have loved the church and have given their labor 
and the fruit of their labor to advance her interest. It 
were idle to speak the names. They are your names 
and those of your fathers; and of those who adorned 
them, some are in the house not made with hands, and 
some are yourselves. If the names were mentioned in 
long array to-day, it would tax your patience, and some 
who gave with large hearts and small ability might be 
unjustly passed over, while those who gave with no less 
love, but with greater ability might alone have mention. 
So, therefore, with humble gratitude to the Great Head 
of the Church who has watched over the history of these 
one hundred years, blessing this portion of His Church, 
prospering its way through many vicissitudes and con- 
ferring upon it rich spiritual blessing by His matchless 
grace, we close the book. When our service shall have 
been finished, and others take our places in pulpit and 
pew; when some other important period shall have 
rounded out, and again this church rejoices and remem- 
bers, may there be written concerning us that we were 
faithful, faithful unto death. Behind the history thus 
briefly spoken lies the prayerful, humble endeavor of 
many a Christian worker, of many a Christian giver; and 
these united offerings and efforts have under God made 
possible the history. Unrecorded they may be, except 
within that book which makes no omissions and no 
errors; but they shall be remembered, one and all, in the 
day when the books shall be opened. Let us so live and 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 347 

love and labor, that in that hour we shall have confi- 
dence and not be ashamed before our Master at His 
coming. 

BY REV. ROBERT F. M'CTjEAN, M?UNCY. 
Your fathers, where are they? — Zechariah I. 5, first clause. 

It is not the design to consider all the truth in the 
text — only so much as applies to the present occasion. 
A century of existence of Lycoming County was com- 
pleted yesterday. It was well to commemorate it with 
clang of bell and shrill note of whistle and other dem- 
onstrations of joy and thanksgiving, and it is well to 
prepare for a more elaborate celebration at a conven- 
ient season in a near-by month. The goodness of God 
has marked all these hundred years. He has lessons 
for us, also, in a review of them. 

The fifth generation, in some families, has come upon 
the stage of action, since the first white settler entered 
this region, a quarter of a century before the organiza- 
tion of the county. On the other hand, a son* of one 
who came a century ago and occupied and owned part 
of the ground on which our town stands, is, we are 
thankful to say, still among us, living on the original 
tract, now portioned among others, its face so much 
altered, hale, for his many years, genial and cheerful, 
and often found in our place of worship. But he is like 
a venerable oak standing in the midst of a forest of 
trees mostly of much later growth. "Your fathers," 
the first settlers, their children and grandchildren in- 
cluded, "where are they?" One,* coming in the earliest 
years of her life, which almost stretches across the 
century, is still with us, interested in reading of the 
things of the present. These are the exceptions. One 



*Lloyd McCarty. 
tMiss Anna Phillips. 



348 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

of the great grandchildren,* esteemed and lamented, 
we lately laid away in her last resting place. The 
whole generation of the fathers, and almost all of the 
two generations following, are swept away, and their 
place knows them no more. Here they were, occupy- 
ing this territory, the same skies over them, as over us, 
the same streams, large and small, flowing by them, 
as by us — but they are gone. Instead of the fathers are 
the children, the grandchildren, the great grand- 
children, and the great great grandchildren. Great 
changes indeed have taken place in the face of the land. 
Yonder dark-browed mountain* remains (its name a 
memorial of a tribe and their chieftain), but the dark 
forest of pine in the cove below, that, as viewed from 
beyond, gave name to the valley* and its stream, has 
been cleared away, and so, largely, with the then un- 
broken forests all around. The river, one branch of 
a greater, flows between the same banks as then, but 
dams and booms have been erected upon it, and bridges 
over it, and a portion of its water has been diverted 
into an artificial channel by its side, for travel and 
commerce once and later for commerce alone. Means 
of transportation, of which the fathers did not dream, 
carry their living and commercial freight, to an amount 
and at a speed that would have been incredible to them, 
along its banks, and anon crossing its face, on strong 
and graceful structures, doomed to be swept away 
again and again by frequently recurring floods, and 
quickly replaced, even whilst travel and traffic kept on 
their way. In places of the trails and paths they fol- 
lowed are wide and graded roads; for fords are bridges; 
maps and finger boards and frequent travel obviate the 

*Miss' Elizabeth Wallis. 
fBald Eagle. 
JBlack Hole. 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 349 

necessity of the compass. Watches, carried even by 
children, have replaced the sun-dial attached to the 
compass. The steam whistles that joined their loud 
voices in the demonstration yesterday would have been 
a strange sound in the ears accustomed even to the war- 
whoop of the Indian. The aid of that then unknown 
power moves not only wheels of locomotive and cars, 
but the machinery of scores of industrial establish- 
ments, rapidly turns our timber into lumber, threshes 
our harvests and turns their product into flour and 
bread. Flourishing towns and a city (not even a set- 
tlement then) have been built where the red aborigine 
roamed and hunted and fought, and where the settler 
in dread of his life tilled the soil, plied his industry 
and followed the bridle path. Instead of the pine-knot, 
the rude oil lamp and the candle is the blazing electric 
light. Churches and schools are now scarcely ever 
out of sight. We have daily papers instead of an oc- 
casional weekly issue in some large town or city, as 
then, and mails at intervals only of hours now, instead 
of weeks as then. There is no record of a post-office 
in our town till in 1800, five years after the erection of 
the county. 

Sturdy, heroic men and women planted the seeds of 
our civilization. They found friends and helpers, and no- 
bility of nature among the Indians, such as Shikellimy 
and Chilloway. The race is represented as disposed to 
welcome and hospitably entertain at first till, selfishly 
and treacherously dealt with by some, the savage in 
their nature was aroused and predominated. Had the 
spirit and policy of Penn prevailed, it might have been 
otherwise. He would not "usurp the right of any nor 
oppress his person." The same spirit cherished, and 
policy pursued still, would advance our civilization and 
promote the happiness of our own and other races, as 

44 



350 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

it would have saved us strife aud bloodshed and loss 
in the latter years of our first century. The same fruit- 
ful source of strife and misery had its place also early 
in our history — rum, that now usurps the rights and 
oppresses the persons of so many. May it, and all of its 
even apparently innocent kindred spirits meet their 
well-deserved doom in banishment early in our second 
century. 

But to return to our ancestry, "Your fathers," as the 
text calls them. Brave were they, and energetic and 
ambitious — or they would not have been found here. 
Christians of various faiths were among them. It is 
related of one such, so accustomed to hardships that he 
desired no better bed than the floor, that he was able to 
join from memory in the reading of the Scriptures in 
turn. They are gone — we inherit the fruits of their in- 
dustry and enterprise and self-denial. We have a like 
responsibility for the future, yea, even greater. We 
are in advance of them in some things — we even may 
be amused by some things that seemed so primitive 
and rude among them. But, have we improved upon 
them so much after all? at least so much as our Divine 
Sovereign and Judge and theirs has a right to expect? 
We do well to note and appreciate and enjoy our 
greater comforts and conveniences and multiplied 
privileges. But these things should not be allowed to 
soften muscular or mental fibre, or sap the strength of 
the soul. There are foes of our modern civilization 
more hurtful than murderous red men, that, need be 
watched in their lurking enmity. There are obstacles 
to be overcome and labors to be performed equal, in 
their way, to the removal of forests, the breaking up of 
virgin soil, and laying the foundations of a civilization. 
The steady and constant advance of a Christian civili- 
zation needs just the same sort of a stout-hearted, zeal- 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 351 

ous, heroic men and women and children, as the early 
years of the century and the beginnings needed, if it 
does not need them even more. Our foes are more 
subtle, our duties perhaps need closer discernment, 
because of the very increase of light and privilege. It 
is so in business, in society, in the state, and in the 
church. Problems are ever recurring, or new ones are 
springing up. Let not love of ease supplant the endur- 
ance, frivolity the sobriety, insincerity the straightfor- 
wardness, indolence the diligence that we read of then. 
Let us not be drifting, but see that we resist the evil 
currents. "Your fathers, where are they?" As the 
honored names of Wallis and Hepburn and McCarty 
and Walton, and perhaps others here, a century ago, 
are still worn by some and cherished by others, so let 
us imitate their virtues, discarding their opposite traits 
if they had them. Let lis not repose in pride of ances- 
try, if we do not seek to follow the good in such and to 
improve upon it. Let us teach the children what the 
fathers endured to give what they enjoy, and train 
them, in their turn, to be self-denying and brave and dili- 
gent and Christian. The fathers have gone to their 
account. These Sabbath days, these Easter celebra- 
tions, remind us that they will live again. So are we 
going, one by one. What account will we have to ren- 
der? 

An Ettwein, a Weiser, a Brainerd, a Fithian carried 
the Gospel of Christ at the first, through this region, 
under difficulty and discouragement. Shall we not 
hold the Gospel banner high, and summon others to rally 
around it, despite our discouragements and difficul- 
ties? 

"They came with strong arms, log cabins' to raise, 
And read their Bibles by the pine knot's blaze, 
Looking forward with hopes mingled with fears, 
And began the eventful hundred years." 



352 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

As it has been written of the early settlers : 

"We come with clang- of bell®, with songs of praise, 
With waving banner®, with, electric blaze, 
With radiant hopes, and with inspiring cheers, 
To crown the memories of a hundred years." 

And as it has been written also for their descendants: 
So msij we pray: 

"Here may the great Redeemer reign, 
Display his grace and saving power; 
Here liberty and truth maintain, 
Till empires fall to rise no more." 

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

The Presbytery of Northumberland, at its meeting 
held at Lewisburg in April, 1834, directed the organiza- 
tion of a church at Muncy. In pursuance of this order 
an election for elders was held in July, 1834, after relig- 
ious service, conducted by P. B. Marr, a licentiate of 
Presbytery. Thomas Hutchison and James Rankin 
were elected elders; and in August, 1834, they were 
ordained elders of the same church by the Rev. John 
Bryson. Rev. P. B. Marr preached to the people accept- 
ably from October, 1833, to April, 1834, from which date 
to October, 1834, they were not supplied. At the fall 
meeting of the Presbytery, 1834, Mr. S. S. Sheddan, a 
licentiate of the Presbytery, on the guarantee of the 
payment of $75.00 for the ensuing six months, was di- 
rected to supply the pulpit every alternate Sabbath. 
This appointment was fulfilled. 

In April, 1835, application was again made for the 
services of Mr. Sheddan, with the request that he should 
be ordained as an Evangelist. These requests were 
granted, and on June 5, 1835, Mr. Sheddan was ordained 
in the new brick church, which was then used as a place 
of worship for the first time, it being the original church 
building improved from time to time as it now stands. 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 353 

In October, 1835, Mr. Sheddan was installed pastor of 
the church, for one-half of his time, which relation he 
continued to sustain until April, 1842. 

In April, 1842, William A. Petrikin and Thomas M. 
Giffen were elected elders and were shortly after or- 
dained. Occasional supplies were furnished the church 
by the Presbytery until April, 1843, when Mr. John 
Smalley, a licentiate of the New Brunswick Presbytery, 
was appointed stated supply for one-half his time. Mr. 
Smalley continued to be stated supply until September, 
1850. From September, 1850, to April, 1856, the church 
was supplied for short terms by several ministers, viz: 
Revs. John Hudson, P. B. Marr, William Life and others 
at times. In the winter of 1852 a charter was granted 
the church under the corporate name of "The Presby- 
terian Church of Muncy." 

The Rev. William Life having- continued to supply 
the church for some considerable time, was elected pas- 
tor September, 1856, who, accepting and being duly 
installed, continued as such until January 1st, 1868, 
upwards of eleven years. 

In September, 1859, it was determined to improve 
the church building, which was effected by March, 
1860, at the cost of $3,579.48, which resulted in its pres- 
ent exterior appearance, with interior remodeling, etc., 
to correspond. 

In November, 1865, J. Roan Barr and William M. 
Rankin, M. D., were elected elders and both soon were 
duly installed. 

Following the pastorate of Rev. William Life, from 
June, 1868, until May, 1871, the Rev. Archibald Heron 
served the church as stated supply, he having been in 
the meantime elected pastor, failing health precluding 
the consummation of that relation. Succeeding the 
Rev. A. Heron the Rev. Lyman D. Calkins became pas- 



354 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

tor June, 1871, continuing until the fall of 1873, about 
two years; resigning- he was soon succeeded by the Rev. 
S. T. Thompson, whose pastorate terminated April, 
1878. 

About the year 1875 Hugh Montgomery, M. D., 
Adam Rankin, and Fleming Wilson, and in June, 1878, 
S. S. Alexander and W. J. Wood were elected elders of 
the church, they all being ordained and installed at 
the proper time. 

In August, 1878, the Rev. N. F. Stahl became stated 
supply, in which capacity he continued until the year 
1880, when he was installed as pastor; his pastorate 
ending November, 1883, by his resignation. The Rev. 

E. B. Raffensperger received a call in July, 1884. He 
accepted, and in a few months was installed; his pas- 
torate being cut short by his lamented death, May 1, 
1885. The Rev. Artemas Dean shortly after became 
pastor, resigning May, 1893, after about eight years of 
service. Following him the church now possesses the 
present incumbent, the Rev. R. F. McClean, who was 
installed January 5, 1894. 

In April, 1891, the following elders were elected, viz: 
S. E. Sprout, W. R. Peoples and H. J. Larzelere. Messrs. 
Sprout and Peoples were ordained, etc, but Mr. Larzel- 
ere declined on account of contemplated removal from 
the bounds of the church. At the present time the Ses- 
sion of the church consists of three members, Rev. R. 

F. McLean, pastor, and Elders S. E. Sprout and Wil- 
liam J. Wood. The church having been closed for sev- 
eral months for interior improvements and renovation, 
the regular services were resumed on Sabbath, May 2fi, 
1895, to the delight and satisfaction of the congrega- 
tion. 

WILLIAM J. WOOD. 



CENTENNIAL SERMONS. 355 

Rev. S. S. Sheddan served the First Presbyterian 
Church, of Williamsport several years, in connection 
with the church here. At that time it was the only 
Presbyterian church in Williamsport, having been or- 
ganized in 1833, a year before the Muncy church. 

The handsome and commodious manse was built 
1874-5. 

Note.— In the general heading of this chapter the name of Mr. McClean is printed 
" McClure." The error was not discovered until after the page was printed. 



356 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



EARLY MEDICAL MEN. 



Report of the Committee — Pioneer Doctors in the 
West Branch Valley. 



They were brave men and brave women who first 
settled in the West Branch Valley. The country was 
then devoid of roads and the river and its tributaries 
were the sole highways of travel and commerce — 
canoes carried passengers and transported merchan- 
dise. Here was also the home of the red man, the bear 
and the wolf. 

In the clearing of lands, erection of buildings and the 
pursuit of game, accidents happened. The Indian with 
his arrow, scalping knife and tomahawk did his bloody 
work whenever opportunity offered. Who treated the 
sick and wounded among the first settlers in the last 
quarter of the last century — more than one hundred 
years ago? 

A military surgeon named Alison,* who was sta- 
tioned at Fort Muncy, is the first of whom there is any 
record. He furnished medicines to the people after 

*Dr. Benjamin Alison, son, of Rev. Francis' Alison, Vice Provost of 
tine University of Pennsylvania, and Hannah Armitage, was born 1745 
in New London Township, Chester County, Pa-, and died in Philadelphia 
in the autumn of 1782. He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 
'May, 1761, and graduated in the class of 1765. Was commissioned surgeon 
of the First Pennsylvania Battalion, Col. John Philip de Haas. June 13, 
1776, and accompanied the expedition to Canada. He resigned January 
1, 1777, and soon afterwards made his way to the West Branch Valley, 
where he was employed to attend the militia in a professional capacity. 
It is inferred from his will that he was unmarried, as he left his estate 
to niephews and nieces, and Colonel Hunter, commandant of Fort 
Augusta,. — Ed. 



EARLY MEDICAL MEN. 357 

the "Big Runaway," but the government never recom- 
pensed him. 

The first physician who located in the West Branch 
Valley was Dr. William Plunkett,* an educated Irish 
gentleman of considerable means and great influence. 
He was the great surgeon of the valley and a man of un- 
doubted skill. Many of his patients who had been 
scalped recovered. One noted patient of this kind 
(Capt. James Brady), who was scalped near the mouth 
of Loyalsock Creek, failed to do so. The long journey 
in an open canoe under the rays of the summer sun 
down to Sunbury, where the doctor resided, no doubt 
contributed much to cause death. Dr. Plunkett was 
outspoken in his loyalty to King George and was never 
trusted in the councils of the patriots. He was the first 
judge of Sunbury, presided with dignity and gave gen- 
eral satisfaction. In 1791 he died, aged nearly one hun- 
dred years. For some years preceding his death he was 
totally blind. A man noted for his wit, urbanity and 
sound common sense — a compeer of the great Priestley. 

Some time in 1798 Dr. William Kent Lathy located in 
Williamsport. His office, a diminutive log cabin, stood 
on Front Street, the present site of the Philadelphia 
and Reading freight depot. He was an educated man 
and a good physician. For some years he devoted his 
energies to the practice of his profession in the hamlet 
of Williamsport and then left it for the more prosperous 
and promising field of Pennsdale, where the rich Quak- 
ers dwelt. A lovely Quakeress, Miss Mary Wallis, be- 
came his wife. Finally he removed to Northumber- 

*As a reward for his services the Pennsylvania authorities granted 
him six tracts of land in what is now Lycoming- County. The warrants 
were dated November 14, 1776, and the surveys were made in 1783. 
Plunkett's Creek Township, and the stream, take their names from 
him, because his land laid within the boundaries of the township. — Ed. 
45 



358 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

land and died there July 28, 1809, in the thirty-eighth 
year of his age. His only surviving son studied medi- 
cine and settled at Alton, Illinois, and died there in 
1864. 

A compeer of Dr. Lathy was Dr. James Davidson,* 
who located near the mouth of Pine Creek, above Jersey 
Shore, after having been mustered out of the Revolu- 
tionary army January 1, 1783, as a surgeon. His great- 
est work was done at the battle of Eutaw Springs. He 
was a friend of "Mad" Anthony Wayne and a guest at 
the table of Washington. He never attended a course 
of lectures, but served as students did at that time — an 
apprenticeship of two and a, half years with Dr. Jona- 
than Dayton, of New Jersey, who gave him a certificate 
of competency, dated April 13, 1773, and the right to 
practice as other physicians did. 

He served as assistant surgeon and surgeon during 
the Revolutionary war in the Fifth Pennsylvania Bat- 
talion. After peace was declared he sought the wilds 
of the West Branch Valley. He married Miss Mercy 
Martin, of Sunbury, March 31, 1785, and soon acquired a 
large practice after settling at Pine Creek. 

When the new county was organized in 1795, Dr. 
Davidson was appointed one of the four associate 
judges; afterwards his son, Dr. Asher Davidson,' took 
the brunt of the labor, and died at a good old age in the 
work which his father had established. He also was 
appointed an associate judge in 1837, and many of the 
old residents of this county remember his genial smile, 

*Dr. James Davidson was the first resident physician in the valley 
west of Muncy Hills. He was born in 1750 and died January 16, 1825, 
and was buried in the Pine Creek gTaveyard, which he had set apart 
from his farm for burial purposes. All traces of his gTave have been 
lost.— Ed. 

IBorn February 23, 1795; died at Jeisey Shore June 20, 1864. He 
left no descendants. — Ed. 



EARLY MEDICAL MEN. 359 

his quick repartee and always appropriate anecdote. 
He was a physician of great observation and large ex- 
perience and was the reliance of a large clientage. 

These three physicians had all the professional work 
of this large valley on their hands and were often met 
at night asleep in their saddles. The accidents hap- 
pening in the community required and received imme- 
diate attention — but the sick were not generally placed 
in the care of the physician until after they had enjoyed 
the luxury of a hemlock sweat, an emetic of lobelia, a 
profuse bleeding at the hands of a neighbor, and a brisk 
purging by means of a calomel and jalap. If all this 
treatment did not restore health the physician was 
called in, and what could he, or did he do, but repeat the 
calomel and bleeding; and if there was pain a blister 
and then the feather bed, the hot room and the hotter 
tea and not a drop of water, with the ever-present ax- 
iom, "feed a cold and starve a fever," carried out to the 
letter. When exhaustion, shown by delirium, came on, 
further depletion was required, and when the fever left 
fortunate was the patient if left above ground. 

As the country filled up with hardy settlers other 
physicians made their appearance. Dr. Coleman* and 
Dr. Kogers followed Dr. Lathy, but there is no record 
of their works. In 1800 Williamsport was a mere ham- 
let and Muncy was the favorite point for medical men 
to locate. The first physician in Muncy, excepting the 

*Dr. Samuel Coleman, who succeeded Dr. Lathy about 1804, was the 
second resident physician of Williamsport. He left about 1808 and 
located in Clearfield County, on the Grampian Hills, which he had 
named, and cleared a farm. He died in 1819, aged thirty-seven, leaving 
a request to be buried in one of his fields, so that the plow share might 
pass over his unmarked grave. He was the first resident physician 
of Clearfield County. In 1887 the Medical Society of that county built 
a monument over his grave, near the borough of Pennville. He was a 
strange man, a bachelor, and never divulged his paternity.— Ed. 



360 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

surgeon at the fort, was Dr. Willets, who afterwards 
located in Selinsgrove. In 1803 Dr. Thomas Wood 
located in Muncy, where he practiced for some years, 
followed by his nephew, Dr. Thomas Wood, who was 
succeeded by his grandson, Dr. George G. Wood, now 
in active practice. An early practitioner was Dr. Kitto, 
who is remembered with respect by the older settlers as 
a skillful physician and expert pharmacist, whose 
knowledge was sought in the famous Earls murder 
trial. Dr. Russell is particularly remembered because 
he planted many shade trees along the lower side of the 
plank road in East Muncy. Dr. Lasalle, a French ref- 
ugee, who died in 1S60 at an advanced age. Dr. James 
Rankin, who occupied a prominent position for many 
years, and his grandson, Dr. James Rankin, with Dr. 
Albright and his son Joseph, and Dr. Hayes, care for 
the sick in the borough which promised to rival Wil- 
liamsport. 

Eughesville was first provided with medical atten- 
tion by Dr. John Peale, w T ho afterward located in Sun- 
bury in 1839. He was followed by Dr. George Hill, who 
still lives at an advanced age in the place of his youth. 

Among the earlier settlers of Williamsport were Drs. 
Taylor, Power and Vastine. Dr. Taylor had a large 
practice, was a man of good appearance and a fine 
physician. Dr. Vastine was dashing and equal to any 
emergency, and on one occasion when in the country 
improvised an obstetrical instrument from something 
he found in the kitchen chimney and relieved his pa- 
tient. In 1848 he removed to St. Louis, where he made 
a good medical record. 

Drs. Green, Lyon, Pollock, Crawford and Hepburn, 
of Williamsport, and Dr. Shoemaker, of Newberry, were 
the leading physicians in the fifties. The practice was 



EARLY MEDICAL MEN. 361 

laborious, and the roads in such conditions that the sad- 
dle was the only possible and comfortable means of lo- 
comotion. Dr. Lyon in his memoirs states his rides 
extended twenty-five miles up Loyalsock and Lycoming 
Creeks, and the country radiating from Williamsport as 
a centre, and that frequently after a day's hard work in 
the country he could make a trip to Trout Run after 
supper! 

Dr. James Curtis Hepburn,* one of a family of physi- 
cians, went to China and Japan as a medical missionary 7 
in 1841. He translated the Bible into Japanese and 
performed the first amputation of a leg ever done in 
that country. 

Contemporary with these physicians were Drs. Dou- 
gal and McCleary of Milton, Van Valzah in Lewisburg, 
Jackson in Northumberland, and with whom our older 
doctors met in professional intercourse. 

The village developed into a borough, then into a 
city, with numerous railroad connections, and large 
manufactories, employing thousands of wage earners; 
and then came more doctors, many of them brilliant 
writers and close thinkers, occupying leading positions 
in the profession. 

Years ago the physicians of Lycoming County organ- 
ized themselves into a Medical Society, which has now 
a membership of nearly one hundred. This same Medi- 
cal Society, with the aid of its friends, built a hospital, 
which last year treated 524 patients. 

Comparison of the solitary Dr. Lathy and his little 
log office with the membership of the Lycoming Medical 
Society and the Williamsport Hospital, will enable one 

*For the history and career of this remarkable man, see Meginness' 
Hist, of the Hepburn Family, pp. 135-139. 



3G2 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

to form an idea of the progress of medicine in this county 
during the last hundred years. 

b. h. detwiler, m. d., 
louis schneider, m. d., 
george d. nutt, m. d., 
horaoe g. Mccormick, m. d., 
a. p. hull, m. d., 
joseph w. albright, m. d., 

Medical Committee. 



AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 363 



AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



How Farming Was Done in the Long Ago — Im- 
provements in Machinery. 



Just what the area of the cultivated land of Lycom- 
ing County was one hundred years ago is unknown. But 
when we take into consideration what the county con- 
tained at that time, we must conclude that the farming 
interest was considerable. 

After all the territory Lycoming has contributed for 
the formation of other counties, we still have an area 
770,320 acres of land, 3,352 farms, forty-two townships, 
seventy-two election districts, one city and nine bor- 
oughs. 

The work done on the farm in the county during the 
first part of the past century was by hand, with the aid 
of a horse or an ox team. The land had to be cleared of 
timber; this was done by cutting it down, collecting it 
in large heaps and burning them. This done, the ground 
was ready for the farmer. The implements used to cul- 
tivate the soil in the earlier days of the county were 
few and rudely made. First was the shovel plow, made 
after the Egyptian style; then came the wooden mould- 
board plow, made by taking a piece of twisted timber 
and dressing it in the shape of a mould-board; and to 
it was fitted an iron or steel point, wooden land strip, 
wooden beam and wooden handles, which completed the 
early plow. One of these plows can yet be seen in the 
Agricultural Department of the Muncy Valley Farm- 
ers' Club at Hughesville. 



364 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

The A shaped drag or harrow was often made by tak- 
ing a forked tree or sapling, cutting off the forks six or 
eight feet long, then putting in eight iron teeth on each 
side. This, with a chain around the forked end to hitch 
the team to, completed the harrow or drag. These 
implements, with a shovel and hoe, furnished the outfit 
a century ago. 

The chief crops raised in the county in the earlier 
days were wheat, rye, oats, corn, potatoes and flax. 
The soil in its virgin state contained all the elements 
of plant food required to produce a good crop; all that 
was required to insure a crop was to scratch or plow the 
ground, sow the seed, harrow it over with the forked 
harrow and the work was done. 

The growing of flax and preparing it for use required 
more labor than any of the crops named. The ground 
was prepared the same as for oats, and the seed sown 
about the middle of April or first of May. When the 
flax ripened it had to be pulled up by the roots, tied in 
small bundles, and when dry threshed with the flail, 
then taken back to the field and spread out thin on the 
ground, until the woody fibre became tender and brittle ; 
then it was taken up and bound in large bundles and 
stored away in a dry place until winter. Then came 
the work of preparing it for its many uses; first, it was 
spread on poles over a hot fire until it was thoroughly 
dry, when it was put on a wooden machine called a 
"flax brake" and pounded until all the woody fibre in the 
stalks was broken in small pieces, so that it could be 
separated from the tough fibre from which linen cloth 
and thread were made. This ended the men's part of 
the work. Spinning and weaving was the work of the 
women. 

Harvesting was the hardest work on the farm. This, 



AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 365 

in the earlier days of the century, was all done with a 
sickle by hand. The writer (chairman of this com- 
mittee) remembers seeing his mother going in the har- 
vest field along with his father and hired hands to cut 
the golden wheat with the sickle. Threshing was the 
work of the winter. It was either done with the flail 
or by tramping with horses. The flail was made by 
taking two sticks, one five feet long for a handle, to 
which was attached by two leather strings a piece two 
feet long. The grain was spread out thin on a floor 
and pounded from the straw with the flail. 

To thresh by tramping was done by placing the grain 
on a floor, then putting the horses on and driving them 
round in a circle until the grain was tramped from the 
straw. The grain was then separated from the chaff by 
running it through a fanning mill, which, on being 
turned by a crank, blew the chaff from the grain. 

As time advanced improvements were made. The 
iron mould-board plow took the place of the wooden 
one; the square harrow the place of the A shaped drag; 
the threshing machine the place of the flail; the mowing 
machine the place of the old Dutch scythe; the four 
horse reaper the place of the sickle and grain cradle. 

Thus the inventive genius of man has gone on until 
to-day we have complete labor-saving machinery for 
all agricultural purposes. To describe the improve 
ments in agricultural machine^ is not necessary, as 
the foregoing description and a trip through the farm- 
ing country will suffice to show the young the progress 
made in one century. 

The Lycoming County Agricultural Society was in- 
corporated September 24, 1859. The charter members 
were: B. Morris Ellis, John B. Hall, H. B. Packer, 
John Gibson, Daniel Updegraff, Charles Allen, Abram 

46 



366 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

Updegraff and John V. Woodward. The society held 
annual exhibitions until 1883, when it ceased to exist. 

The Muncy Valley Farmers' Club was organized in 
Hughesville in August, 1868. The first officers were: 
President, Dr. George Hill; secretary, Daniel Steck. 
The first fair was held in the fall of 1872. The club 
still holds annual fairs and is in a flourishing condition. 
At the annual meeting for the election of officers, held 
in December, 1895, the following were chosen: Presi- 
dent, Abner Fague; vice-presidents, T. A. Boak and R. 
P. Bardo; secretary, A. C. Henry; assistant secretary, 
C. Steck Hill; treasurer, Hon. Peter Reeder. 

The Lycoming and Clinton County Agricultural So- 
ciety was chartered May 2, 1878, with headquarters at 
Jersey Shore. It passed out of existence in 1882. 

The State Agricultural Society held an exhibition in 
Williamsport in the autumn of 1865. 

ABNER FAGUE, 
FREDERICK HEILMAN, 
E. W. MICHAEL, 
DANIEL DIETRICK, 
A. K. CAROTHERS, 
JACOB HEIM, 
DELOS S. MAHAFFEY, 
DANIEL ULMER, 
G. P. SMITH, 

Committee. 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 367 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 



Quaint Old Objects that Have an Interesting His- 
tory — McBride's Trunk. 



[From Pennsylvania Grit.] 

It would have been impossible for one to have picked 
out from among the wealth of antiquities displayed 
at the recent centennial exposition the articles that 
ranked first in historic value. Practically, there 
were no firsts. The entire collection combined in the 
making of a display that represented so many periods, 
so many phases, of Lycoming's first century that, it 
would have been foolhardy to have attempted to be- 
stow precedence upon any one article or any particular 
set of articles. Grit had in contemplation the compi- 
lation of a complete list of articles in the antiquarian 
collection, together with the name of each contributor, 
but a survey of the ground to be covered developed 
the fact that the display was such an extensive and 
enormous one that space would not permit the publi- 
cation of the list. However, now that there is a proba- 
bility of a centennial history being published, the im- 
portant and valuable work of recording the list of an- 
tiquities will doubtless be made a feature of that 
volume. 

Grit presents the pictures of a number of articles, 
selected here and there from the great collection- 
things with which are associated stories of interest, 
and which go to make up a part of the diversified his- 
tory of Lycoming County, the West Branch Valley, 



368 



LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



and, incidentally, that of Pennsylvania. Foremost 
among this number is the silver medal awarded by the 
Senate of Pennsylvania to William Perry Brady, in 
testimony of his patriotism and bravery in the naval 
action on Lake Erie, on September 10, 1813, at which 




FAC-SIMILE OF OBVERSE AND REVERSE OF 
BRADY MEDAL. 

time Commodore Perry's little fleet of American ships 
won a brilliant victory over the English. This medal, 
at the exposition, was in charge of John F. Meginness; 
it was loaned by Mrs. Willis Taylor, of this city, grand- 
daughter of the man to whom the medal was given. 
Mrs. Taylor also contributed a number of other very 
valuable articles to the antiquarian display. The Brady 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 369 

badge is at least a third larger than a silver dollar, and 
upon the reverse side, within a prettily designed scroll, 
in script letters, are engraven the words: "William 
P. Brady." On the obverse is a portrait, in bas relief, 
of Commodore Oliver H. Perry. In addition to this 
there appears a number of appropriate inscriptions, as 
is shown in the fac-simile presented herewith. The 
story of William P. Brady's bravery has often been 
recounted. When Commodore Perry, at a crucial point 
in his Lake Erie campaign, called for volunteers for a 
most hazardous task, Brady was the first to offer his 
services. His conduct throughout the engagement, 
which resulted so victoriously for the Americans and 
sent a thrill of joy to every colonist's heart, was that 
of the brave man which he had often proved 
himself to be and was in keeping with the 
bravery displayed by his forefathers during the 
pioneer days of West Branch settlement. Recog- 
nizing the importance of the service rendered his coun- 
try, the Senate of Pennsylvania, somewhere in the late 
forties, bestowed upon him, in the shape of this badge, 
which is now revered by his descendants, a mark of 
recognition and distinction. 

To the thousands who visited the antiquarian show 
during its ten-days' continuance, the display of Indian 
relics was a feature of intense interest. Indian history 
is always interesting, and the ocular evidences of the 
existence of this race of people, in the way of cere- 
monial stones, pipes, axes, tomahawks, arrow-heads 
pottery, etc., all gathered in the valley of the West 
Branch, portrayed to the minds of the people a most 
vivid reminder of the days when these instruments 
were active factors in the life of the red man of the 
forest. In the collection of Mr. Gernerd, of Muncy, was 
a group of Indian relics. Associated with one of the 



370 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

ceremonial stones was a singular bit of history. Mr. 
GernercTs invaluable collection is the result of many 
years' labor and research. A long time ago, during 
one of his strolls along the river Mr. Gernerd found a 
portion of an Indian ceremonial stone. It had broken 
at the aperture in the centre, the irregular indentations 
at this point clearly showing where the detached part 
had fitted. Mr. Gernerd became possessed with a de- 
sire to find the detached portion of this ceremonial 
stone, and ever afterward, during his visits to the river 
and strolls over former Indian haunts, he kept a sharp 
lookout for the lost piece. Fifteen years after the dis- 
covery of the first piece he one day visited the home of 
a family in the neighborhood of Muncy, whom he knew 
had a collection of arrow-heads and Indian relics. They 
were poured promiscously into a box and Mr. Gernerd 
was invited to look them over. Picture his surprise 
to find among the conglomeration of stones the identi- 
cal lost part of the ceremonial stone which he had been 
keeping for so many years. On reaching home he found 
that the two pieces fitted accurately, thus demonstrat- 
ing that they were really "mates." Mr. Gernerd fas- 
tened the pieces together with glue, and few there were 
of the many who gazed down at the "broken" stone in 
the exposition case who knew its story. 

Gruesome though its historic interest, yet one of the 
things that won universal attention was a little leather- 
covered, brass-riveted trunk. This was the treasure- 
chest of old John McBride and wife,* who were mur- 

*John McBride and his wif» Isabella, who lived in an old house on the 
highway, a mile west of Newberry, were cruelly assaulted by a des- 
perado named Nelson E. Wade, on the afternoon of July 22, 1873. Mrs. 
AtoBiride, aged about 70 years, was killed outright by a club in the hands 
of the ruffian; her husband, aged 79, whose skull was fractured by blows 
from the same club, lingered until July 27th. The object of the murder 
was robbery. The old people were misers and had a large amount of 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 



371 



dered near Dougherty's Run, west of Williamsport, by 
Nelson E. Wade. The forced and broken lock of the 
old trunk was examined by thousands, for the knowl- 
edge that the brutal Wade, after killing the helpless 
old couple, had torn the box open and extracted there- 
from much of the money that he carried away with 
him, attached to it the morbid interest that is naturally 
awakened in mankind when viewing any object that 
may have been associated with crime. The interior 
of the trunk was covered with a newspaper, and the 
trunk is in the same condition as when taken from the 
home of the murdered McBrides. 




WHERE THE M'BRIDES KEPT THEIR GOLD 



INCOMING'S FIRST SEWING MACHINE. 

The first sewing machine brought to Lycoming 
County occupied a place in the Singer Sewing Machine 
Company's booth. It is a crude and curious looking 
piece of mechanism. It was brought to Williamsport 
by Covert & Eothrock, pioneer merchant tailors, and is 
now the property of Mathias Stopper, who operated 
it about thirty years. The contrast between the old 

money in the house, a portion of which Wade obtained. They were 
buried in the cemetery at Newberry, where their tombstones may be 
seen. Wade was caught, tried, convicted, and executed at Williamsport 
November 6, 1873. 



372 



LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



article and the modern machines, which stood near it, 
was amusing. 

A particularly interesting object in the exposition 
was the Ethan Allen table, now the property of Mrs. 
Mary C. White Merrick. General Ethan Allen, the 
hero of Ticonderoga, where he led the Green Mountain 
boys to victory against the British, is a familiar name 
to every school boy in the United States. It was Allen, 
who on the morning of May 10, 1775, surprised the 
English captain, Delaplace, demanding surrender "in 
the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental 
Congress." This stroke wrested all the northern re- 
gion of the American colonies from the English. Allen 




GOVERNOR SHULZE'8 CHAIR. 



ETHAN ALLEN'S TABLE. 



Avas a literary man, and some of his works commanded 
wide attention. The table which was on exhibition at 
the Lycoming exposition has been the property of Al- 
len's descendants continuously, hence its authenticity 
is undoubted. Who knows, perhaps it was upon this 
very table that the famous New Englander wrote his 
books, for it occupied a prominent part in the furnish- 
ings of his household. 

On the elevated platform on the south side of exposi- 
tion hall was a quaint old chair that belonged to John 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 373 

Andrew Shulze, Governor of Pennsylvania from 1823 to 
1 829, now the property of his descendants in Lycoming 
County. The antiquated article of furniture attracted 
much attention because of its historic associations. It 
is of quite frail construction, and was doubtless con- 
sidered a beauty in its day. 

NINETY-SIX YEARS AGO. 

Mr. and Mrs. Isaac M. Grier, residing at No. 206 Race 
Street, have in their possession a piece of furniture, 
which, nearly 100 years ago, served as Williamsport's 
first post-office. It is a solid walnut desk about six 
feet high and four feet wide. A drop leaf reveals a 
series of pigeon holes, and these, for nearly twenty 
years, served as the letter boxes of the Williamsport 
post-office. It was then the property of Samuel E. 
Grier, who was appointed postmaster at Williamsport 
on August 12, 1799. He was postmaster for twenty 
years, and had the office in a little house on the site 
where the Mussina building, north-east corner of Mar- 
ket Square, now stands. Mr. Grier brought the walnut 
desk with him from Ireland, and its exact age is not 
known. The present owners, however, calculate that 
it is at least 150 years old. 

What a change to contemplate! The post-office at 
Williamsport ninety-six years ago consisted of a 4xfi 
cabinet, while to-day it occupies the entire first floor of 
the magnificent granite building on West Fourth 
Street. 

The old desk is still in a good state of preservation, 
and does duty in the Grier household. It is due to Mrs. 
(McMinn) Grier's foresight that the relic was not con- 
sumed as fire-wood, for she rescued it from the wood- 
shed of a former owner, who failed to recognize its his- 
toric worth. Since that time it has had a place of 

47 



374 



LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



honor in Mrs. Grier's home, and although it has passed 
through the memorable floods of 1889 and 1894, the 
desk yet has the appearance of lasting centuries to 
come. It is built entirely of heavy, solid walnut, and is 
a rather cumbersome piece of furniture, yet to this fact 
is due its excellent state of preservation. There are no 
nails used in its construction. It is "doved-tailed" 
together, and is a wonderful illustration of old-time 
cabinet makers' work. 

When taken from the wood-shed, where it had been 
carried to be chopped to pieces, Mrs. Grier found within 
it quite a number of old papers, one of which was the 




THE FIRST FOST-OFFIC'E. 



last will and testament of Samuel E. Grier, the original 
owner of the desk. Isaac Grier's father was named 
Matthew, and he was the son of Samuel. In the will 
of the latter the old desk was bequeathed to his son 
Matthew. Samuel E. Grier, besides being postmaster 
of Williamsport, was also a justice of the peace, and the 
will is in his own hand-writing, under date of August 
1, 1834. The old document is a novelty, and a verbatim 
copy is given herewith: 

In the name of God, amien. I Sam E. Grier, of Lycoming Township, 
1 recommend my immortal soul unto the hand of God who gave it, and 
my body to be buried in a decent manner. And as worldly goods where- 
with I have I give and dispose of 'therm in the following, but although 
considering the uncertainty of life and some earthly things to dispose 
of, and being arrived at old age, and having my understanding, blessed 
be God for the same, do in the following manner dispose of them: First, 



THERE IS A STORY WITH EACH. 375 

I leave and bequeath my beloved wife, Jane, the clock and case, value 
$63; the stove and pipe, $20; the three cornered cupboard, $10; the dough- 
trough and tea-kettle, $2, one large iron kettle, $5; one large bake oven 
and one small bake plate and stew pot, $4; one dinner pot, one little pot, 
pair of sausage choppers and gridiron, $3; one large table with drawer 
and breakfast table and all the chairs, $16; two brass candlesticks; two 
smooth irons, shovel and tongs, $3, together with all the beds and bed- 
ding and any residue in money yet coming from Grier, $60; to 

Matthew, my eldest son, I leave and bequeath the waggOn, small log 
chain and iron traces, $60; the large cupboard (this is the piece of furni- 
ture that was formerly used as a post-office) in the kitchen, and fire 
irons 1 ; I leave and bequeath to. Samuel, my sword and saddle, $12; to 
John and Robert I bequeath and leave all my books. I leave and be- 
queath to Ann Eliza the large looking-glass, small trunk and large 
server; to Robert I leave my gun. I do hereby leave the whole disposal 
of the aforesaid to my wife, Jane, in order that no dispute may arise 
among the family. Margaret, Jane and Rachel got as much as would 
be allowed them at the time of marriage. 

This document bears the signature and seal of the 
testator. Besides the will there was found in the old 
desk a land patent, signed by Governor Mifflin, to Mary 
Kempleton, under the date of May 22, 1798, covering 
a tract of land "on the north side of the West Branch 
of the Susquehanna lliver, and about one mile from 
Lycoming Creek." 

Since coming into possession of the desk Mr. and Mrs. 
Grier have added a modern-styled top, and inserted 
therein a mirror which was also brought from Ireland 
by the forefathers. This is the mirror given in the will 
to one of the daughters, and it adds interest to the 
famous piece of furniture. The lower part of the desk 
contains two doors, and in this portion were kept the 
valuable documents of the old 'squire. 



376 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 

Dedicated to John of Lancaster, the Historian of the West Branch. 

When 'this town was young an hundred years ago, 
And stages did not run and come and go 
As since they have by which the city grew, 
And then succeeded by the packet, too, 
To give the people chance to come and see 
Our town, though small, but young as we. 

And then there came the locomotive, when 

"We took the cars o'er hill and glen; 

The people then began to travel west 

To find them homes and place of rest; 

But Williamsport retained its great renown, 

And people multiplied to fill the town, 

And on we went from stage to car 

Until the P. & E. extending far 

Brought Philadelphia and Brie in close relation, 

And distance vanished by the new creation. 

The P. & R. with rapid sitrides advanced 
And o'er the hills our lumber piles they glanced, 
And into Williamsport with rapid strides 
They pushed their tracks to reach the tide. 

From north the Fall Brook road came in to see, 

Projected by Gen. George J. McGee; 

And then the Beech Creek road was built 

By the intrepid W. H. Vanderbilt, 

Whose money made the wheels of progress run 

And give us more than two thousand pounds' per ton. 

When time's last nickering lamp shall blaze 

With light undimmed to mortal gaze, 

And we shall stand upon the shore of time 

And looking back through space shall shine 

With golden lamps and. view the scenes and joys 

And sorrows, too, when life to us as boys 

Was jubilant of youth without a care 

At what we were to other things that now we share. 

An hundred years have passed in time 

Since Michael Ross, an honored name we find 

Engraven on the records of the past, 

And still a name to memory dear to some 

Who knew him best and from whose loins they sppung. 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 377 

Then William Hepburn, too, from out whose fame 
The city came and took its form and name, 
Will be remembered when the clock of time 
lHas struck its last twelfth stroke in line. 

The past is gone, not ever to recall, 

And things sitill move on this terrestrial ball, 

And Williamsport, the "Everlasting State," 

Plods on, enlarging at a wondrous rate; 

The 'Grampian Hills with beauty all arrayed 

On north arise by every eye surveyed; 

The boulevard presents attractive scenes and rides 

To all who love the wheel or in their horses pride. 

Now, John, the time Is coming very near 
When you and I on this terrestrial sphere 
Must part to meet again, in better state, 
And what we have here seen will then relate, 
Without the cares that here have vexed us so, 
And filled our cup of pleasure or of woe. 

The centennial of old Lycoming adds 

A crown of glory to our ancient dads, 

And in the memory of the generations who 

Will live to bless them when our heads lay low, 

Will worship Him whose shrine in human hearts 

He fits for worshiping in all its parts. 

And then, dear John, when we have passed to reach 
The eternal city and Its courts of peace 
Our troubles here will all be ended, when 
Our glittering crowns and richer diadems 
We cast before His feet and say, 'tis well. 

The trials, and the tears that now we shed 
O'er disappointed hopes and present dread 
Conspire to lift the veil that we may gaze 
Towards setting sun and more unclouded days, 
And we shall then know what to us was best 
In that pure region of eternal rest. 

And now, 1*11 end this dedication song 

With nothing in it, that I hope is wrong, 

Remembering that our Centennial, which is past. 

May in some memories forever last 

To point the way to greater things to do, 

Ere the scenes eternal break upon their view. 

-A. J. QUIGLEY, 



378 LYCOMING COUNTY CENTENNIAL. 

A THOUGHT FOR THE NEXT CENTENNIAL. 

Where, where- will be the birds that sing, 

A hundred years to come? 
The flowers that nlow in beauty spring, 

A hundred years to some? 
The rosy lip, the lofty brow, 
The hearts that beat so gayly now? 
Oh! where will be love's beaming eye? 
Joy's pleasant smile, and sorrow's sigh, 

A hundred years to come? 

Who'll press for gold our crowded street, 

A hundred years to come? 
Who tread our church aisles with willing feet, 

A hundred years to come? 
Pale trembling age whose race is run, 
Gives way to youth, life's work begun, 
The rich, the poor, on land and sea, 

A hundred years to come? 

Within our graves we all shall sleep, 

A hundred years to come; 
For us no living soul will weep, 

A hundred years to come! 
Then other hands our land® will till 
And other men our streets will fill, 
While other birds will sing as gay, 
In sunshine bright as of tlo-day, 

A hundred years to come. 

— W. N. J. 



ADDENDUM. 

In a foot note on page 86 it is stated that the centen 
nial anniversary day (April 13, 1895) of the county was 
signalized by the blowing of steam whistles and the 
ringing of bells for a short time, in accordance with a 
suggestion made by Director General Lucas (see p. 84) 
and endorsed by a proclamation issued by Mayor Elliot. 
The note should have gone further and stated that a 
public meeting of citizens was held that evening in the 
court house for the purpose of still further emphasizing 



ADDENDUM. 379 

the importance of the event. Hon. John J. Metzger, 
president judge of the courts of Lycoming County, pre- 
sided, and on calling the meeting to order stated its ob- 
ject in a few well chosen remarks. 

Addresses were made by Hon. H. C. Parsons, C. La 
Rue Munson, Esq., Charles K. Geddes, Esq., and W. M. 
Stephens, Esq. Each speaker dwelt particularly and 
eloquently upon the event which the meeting had been 
called to celebrate, and reviewed the wonderful pro- 
gress that had been made since the organization of the 
county one hundred years ago, and predicted a mag- 
nificent future if the people continued true to them- 
selves and the Great Giver of all blessings. 

The moral effect of this meeting was to increase the 
enthusiasm which was being aroused among the peo- 
ple, and encourage them to try and make the approach- 
ing celebration one that they and their descendants 
should not feel ashamed of; and the thoughtful, well- 
timed and impressive addresses did much towards 
aiding in bringing about the magnificent series of dem- 
onstrations which culminated on July 4, 1895. 



INDEX. 

A. 



Acknowledgment to the press, 298. 

Admission, price of, 107. 

Addendum, 378. 

Advisory Committee, 88; additional members of, 100. 

Agricultural Committee, report of, 363. 

Allegheny River, spelling of, note, 139. 

Allen, Ethan, note, 262; table, 372. 

Ames, H. T., address of, 118. 

An obnoxious law, 325. 

Antiquarian Hall, opening of, 108; receipts and expenditures, 309-310. 

Anthony, Hon, Joseph Biles, 323. 

Antiquarian Committee, chairman of, 87; report of, 196. 

Antiquities, display of, 216. 

Armstrong & Linn, 331. 

Armstrong Township, display of, 218. 

Auditing Committee, appointment of, 303. 

Auxiliary, Ladies, 197. 

B 

Baker, Dr. L. G., curious exhibit of, 264. 

Ball, report against, 107. 

Balloon, ascension of, 129. 

Bar, the, 332; members in 1895, 332-334; early members of, 330. 

Bastress Township, exhibit of, 218. 

Bath, Centennial of, 35. 

Barttle of Muncy Hills, note, 139. 

Becht, J. George, 26, 39. 

Beeber, J. Artley, note, 7. 

Bells, ringing of, 86. 

Bentley, Hon. B. S., 325. 

Benjamin family, 242. 

Bible, Breeches, note, 287. 

Bicycle parade, committee on, note, 113; parade of, 130. 

Brady medal, 368. 

Board of Managers, duty of, 66; election of, 68. 

Books, rare local, 277. 

Borough and township committees, 205. 

Boroughs, exhibits of, 225-235. 

Brady Township, exhibit of, 218; memorials of Captain Brady, 278. 

Brown, Rev. Horatio W., 345. 

Building, bids for, 85; contract for, 86; rent of, 87. 



382 INDEX. 

c 

Campbell, sword of, 250. 

Candidates, early, vote of, 24. 

Carter, Rev. James, sermon of, 335. 

Centennial, first mention of, 34-35. 

Celebration, date of fixed, 41; beginning of, 112; program, first day, 112; 
parade, 114; second day, 132; third day, 155. 

Centennial Hall, opening- of, 216. 

Centennial Book, appropriation for, 303. 

Centenarians invited, 68. 

Centennial sermons, committee on, 67, 385. 

Champion, W. W., appointed chairman, 87; letter from, 88; vote of 
thanks, 03; verbal report, 95; progress reported, 100; when ready to 
open exhibition, 104; opening of the Hall^ 108; suggestions by, 200; 
labors of, 296; report from, 300; payments to, 302. 

Charter members, names of, note, 83 v 

City school districts, organization of, 29-30. 

Classification, committees on, 208. 

Clement, C. M., oration of, US. 

Clinton County, exhibit of, 264. 

Co,gian House, exhibit of, 218. 

Collector, special, engaged, 104; general, 108. 

Collins, Emerson, addresses of, 186, 292. 

Common schools, then and now, McMinn, 44. 

Commdssiioners. first meeting of, 15. 

Committee, general, 62; honorary, 105, 108. 

Committees, appointment of, 64. 

Councils, select, 28; common, 29. 

County expenses, early, 24-26. 

Chapman, Hon. Seth, 322. 

County of Lycoming organized, 5. 

County officers, 1895, 26-27. 

Counties taken from Lycoming, 32. 

County, population of, 21. 

Cooper, Hon. Thomas, 321. 

Corporators, meeting of, 83. 

Creek, Lycoming, 5. 

Court house, flirst, cost of, 23; the second, 24; exercises at, 117; refer- 
ence to, 316; the original, 319; bell, by whom made, 319. 

Courts, the first, 317-320. 

Cummin, Hon. Hugh H., 326. 

D 

Date of Centennial recommended, 65, 70, 73. 

Decorations, committee on, 213. 

Delmar Township, note, 20. 

Diplomas, award of, 57. 

Directors, last meetings of, 300, 311. 

Director General, election of. 71-72; acceptance of, 74; address by, 84. 



INDEX. 383 

DonneU, Hon. Charles G., 323. 

Duble, J. B., 135; selected as chairman, note, 301; report of Medal 

committee, 301-302. 
Dunns town, centennial of, 36. 

Early courts, where held, 22. 
Early candidates, vote of, 24. 
Early medical mien, 356. 
Election districts, 17, 19, 20. 
Eldred Township, exhibit of, 228. 
Eidon, Charles H., exhibit of, 288. 
Employes, work of, 297. 
Entertainments, account of, 290. 
Expense account, 309. 
Exercises at court house, 133. 
Exhibits and exhibitors, number of, 298. 
Explorers, early, 143. 

K 

Fague, Abner, chairman, 366. 

Fairfield Township, exhibit of, 221; Upper do., 221. 

Farming-, early, 363. 

Fifteen, committee of, 64. 

Finance, committee on, 66, 70. 

Financial statement, 57, 58, 59, 60. 

Fire- works, place for, 108; cost of, 301. 

First posit -office, 373. 

Forks of the Susquehan'na, note, 119. 

Funds, how disbursed, 310-311. 

Gr 

Gamble, Hon. James, 325. 

Gamble Township, exhibit of, 221. 

Gazette, Lycoming, oldest copy of, 265. 

Geddes, C. K., poem by, 182. 

Gernerd, J. M. M., exhibit of, 269; reference to, 369-370. 

Gilmore, iMiss Augusta Helen, 134. 

Grit, Pennsylvania, extract from, 367. 

Green, Rev. Charles F., 118. 

Grier, Samuel E., Will of, 374-375. 

Grier, Rev. Isaac, 337. 

Grier, Rev. Jotton H., 338. 

Grubb, H. K., report of, 110. 

H 

■Halifax, centennial of, 36. 

Hall, John B., 338-339. 

Hepburn, William, 9; state senator, 10; associate judge, 11. 



384 INDEX. 

Hepburn Township, exhibit of, 221. 

Herculaneum, fall of, 194. 

Herold, Rev. Julius A.. 117. 

Highways, early, 150. 

Hills, Muncy, 5. 

Historical Committee, 81. 

Historical features, eommiifctee on. 215. 

Historical and musical entertainments, 290. 

Hollingsworth, John, 9. 

Honorary Committee, names of, 105, 10S. 

Hapkinson collection, 253. 

Hughesville, exhibit of, 225. 

Huston, Thomas, tavern of. 22. 

Huston, Charles T., added to Law Committee, 314. 



Industrial Committee, 96; instructions to, 99. 
Industrial and mechanical exhibits, 266. 
Indians, one battle with, 139. 
Invitations, committee on, S7. 



Jail, first, 23; second, 23; first jailer, 23. 

Jaysburg, 13, 26. 

Jersey Shore, exhibit of, 225. 

Jesuits, relics of, 275. 

Jordan, Hon. Alexander, 324. 

Jordan, Samuel, first jailer, 23. 

Judges, president, 321-325. 

PC 

Kidd, John, appointment of, 12; death of, note, 22. 
Koch, August, exhibit of, 234. 

L 

Ladies, committee of, 73, 95; auxiliary, organization of, 197; ward com- 
mittees, 198; meetings, 201; resolution of thanks, 311. 
Land titles, 147. 

Law Committee, 81; report of, 314. 
Law, an obnoxious, 325. 
Lewis, Hon. Ellis, 322. 
Lewis Township, exhibit of, 222. 
Life, Rev. William, 353. 
Limestone Township, exhibit of, 222. 
Literature, committee on, 81. 
Location of building, discussion on, 78. 



INDEX. 385 

Lucas, H. S., explanation of map, 31-33; elected Director General, 71; 

letter of acceptance, 74; address by, 84; instructions to committees, 

99; programs for celebrations, 112, 131, 155; labor of, 296; final report 

of, 304-312. 
Lukens, Jesse, note a<nd map, 18. 
Loyalsock Township, exhibit of, 223. 
Lycoming, when named, 11; first officers, 11, 12; original boundaries 

of, 16. 
Lycoming Church, when organized, 337. 

M 

Mails, early, how carried, 21. 

Managers, Board of, 68. 

Manufactures, committee on, 65. 

Marr. Rev. P. B., 352. 

Map, explanation of, 31-33. 

McBride, John, note, 370. 

McHenry Township, exhibit of, 223. 

McClean, Rev. R. F. t of Muncy. sermon by, 347. 

McMinn, J. H., address of, 44; exhibition of, 274. 

McMinin, C. V. L, exhibit of, 237. 

Mechanical and industrial exhibits, 266. 

Medical Society, 76; committee, 81; report of, 356. 

Medals, committee on, 65, 106; received, 111; report on, 301. 

Meginness, J. F., exhibit of books, 277. 

Metzger, Henry, offer of, 75; by Mrs. Metzger, 86; lease returned to, 301. 

Metzger, Hon. John J., 327. 

Meeting, first centennial, 61; officers chosen, 61. 

Miscellaneous exhibits, 266. 

Mineralogy, committee on, 65. 

Muncy Presbyterian Church. 352-355. 

Muncy Township, exhibit of, 223. 

Muncy Borough, exhibit of, 226. 

Munson, Mrs., appointed chairman, 197. 

Munson, Mrs. Edgar, exhibit of, 286. 

Munson, C. LaRue, address of, 164; exhibit of, 287. 

Muncy Creek Township, exhibit of, 224. 

Muncy Hills, battle of, note, 139. 

Music, committee on, 65. 

Montgomery, exhibit of, 229. 

Montoursville, exhibit of, 230. 

N 

Newberry, exhibit of, 235. 
Newspapers, exhibits of, 268. 
Nippenose Township, exhibit of, 224. 
Northumberland County, when formed, 5; note, 8. 



386 INDEX. 

o 

Ode, Centennial, by C. K. Geddes, 182. 
Ole Bull, autograph and letter of, 265. 
One Hundred Years, poem, 376-377. 
Opp family, note, 6. 
Orators secured, 104. 
Organization, report on, 66-68. 

P 

Parade of Sunday schools, 114. 

Parsons, H. C, address of, 34; telegraim to by Stone, 129; his reply, 129; 

address of, 135; oldest member of the bar, 332. 
Perry, Commodore, 368-369. 
Petition, original, 6-7; large, 8. 
Picture Rocks, exhibit of, 229. 
Pine Township, exhibit of, 224. 
Pollock, Hon. James, 324. 
Portrait gallery, 280. 
Poor, Overseers of the, 29. 
Potter County, exhibit of, 264. 

Presbyterian Church, second organization of, 339-340-341. 
Press Committee. 93. 
Printing press, very old, 286. 

Prize Committee, report of, 50; general contest, 56; essays, 50-57. 
Progress, apostrophe to, 186. 

Program, centennial, first day, 112; second day, 131; third day, 155. 
Public meeting called, 94. 
Purvis, Mrs. Kate, poem by, 134. 



Q 



Quaint objects, 367. 

Quigley, Hon. A. J., poem by, 376. 

R 

Railroads, first, 180. 

Ransom, Mrs. Mary C, pioneer kitchen, 287. 

Remarkable violins, 245. 

Road, Williamson, 36. 

Rothrock, Boyd, exhibit of, 248. 

Rubright, C. A., portrait of, 266. 

Rules, committee on, 71. 

Rush, Hon. Jacob, 321. 

Russell, James, 15. 

s 

Salutes, committee on, note, 112. 
Salladasburg, exhibit of, 231. 

Schools, action of the, 38; committee on celebration, 39-41; school houses, 
first, 44; schoolmasters, early, 46; schools, city, 50; county schools, 53. 



INDEX. 387 



Sermons, Centennial, 335. 

Sheddan, Rev. S. S., 352. 

Shoemaker, Henry, note, 6. 

Site, committee on, 12. 

Sloan, W. H., treasurer, report of, 303. 

Solicitors, report of the, 100; instructions to, 214. 

South Williamsport, exhibit of, 232. 

Sowing the seed, 34. 

Special township committees, 208. 

Special historical exhibits, 269. 

Steam whistles blown, 86. 

Sterling, Rev. William, 343. 

Stewart, Samuel, first sheriff, 15. 

Stewart, James S., note, 109. 

Stone, Charles W., telegram from, 129. 

Sub-committees, ladies, meeting of, 201. 

Sullivan County, exhibit of, 265. 

Susquehanna, Forks of, note, 119. 

Subscriptions, where they came from, 312. 

T 

Taylor, Mrs. Willis, exhibit of, 368. 

Teachers, meeting of, 38. 

Thought for Next Centennial, poem, 378. 

Townships, first, 16. 

Tioga, township of, 19. 

Tioga County, exhibit of, 265. 

Townships, exhibits of, 218-225; subscriptions from, 304. 

Transeau, Dr., report of, 57-60. 

Transportation, committee on, 95, 108. 

Trunk with a history, 284. 

Trunk, McBride's, 371. 

Tubbs, Hon, Charles, address of, 137-155; exhibit of, 275. 

Type-setting machine, note, 295. 

u 

Upper Fairfield, exhibit of, 221; Lower do., 221. 

V 

Violins, remarkable, 245. 

w 

Waltz, S. W. H., secretary, 61, 69; letter from, 77-80. 
Ward committees, ladies, 198. 
Warrants for money, 94. 
Warren, celebration at, 129. 



388 INDEX. 

Washington Township, exhibit of, 225. 

Whiskey used at court house raising, 23, 319. 

Whistles, steam, blown, note, 86. 

Winters, Rev. David, 345. 

Williamsport, original plot of, 13; first house in, 14; when incorporated, 

27; officers in 1895, 27-29; exhibit of, 237; subscriptions from, 305-308. 
Wilson, Col. Samuel, submits contracts, 86; subscriptions secured by, 

296; resolution of thanks to the ladies, 311-312. 
Wolf Township, exhibit of, 225. 
Wood, Dr. George G., motion to distribute surplus, 303. 



